


Of Gallantry, Guilt, and Grace

by WildClover27 (PrairieFlower)



Category: Garrison's Gorillas
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:22:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29883822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrairieFlower/pseuds/WildClover27
Summary: A mission goes wrong and could cost the life of one of the men. Relationships are ended, put on hold, and continued.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Non-canon characters are my own and not for use in other people's stories.

Actor stood precariously on the running board of the supply truck. He had one arm around the wind wing support and held a schmeisser in the other hand. His eyes searched ahead for Terry. She had taken off on an angle from him, so they should be coming up on her soon. As the truck rounded a curve, he spotted her down the road coming out of the bar ditch. Garrison took the schmeisser in through the open window. Both men grinned as the girl stuck her thumb out in a hitching gesture.

Holding onto the door frame, Actor reached out and down as Casino slowed the vehicle but did not stop. He caught Terry’s up stretched arm and hauled her up as she leapt for the running board. The narrow step and momentum of the vehicle had her reaching an arm around him which afforded him a brief tight hug as she gained her balance. A big grin echoed his.

“Going my way?” cracked Terry.

“Sure,” replied Actor. “Need a lift?”

“I think I just got one, thank you.”

Craig handed the gun back out between them. Terry faced outward, left hand holding onto the wind wing support. Actor stood beside her, left hand holding the upper frame and right arm with the gun across the front of the girl.

Casino, doing the driving, hollered past Garrison to Actor, “You just pick up women anywhere, don’t yuh.”

Garrison cracked a grin at Casino, “That’s no woman, that’s my sister.”

“Go chase yourself,” said Terry, gleefully.

Their levity was short-lived as gunfire erupted from the back of the truck. Terry popped her head around Actor to see two German open cars and two motorcycles in pursuit, firing on the truck.

“Two and two,” she called to Craig.

Casino sped up. As they rounded a curve, they spotted a roadblock up ahead.

“What’d’yuh want I should do?” questioned Casino.

“Run it,” barked Garrison.

Actor swung around Terry, pressing her hard against the truck door and shielding her with his body. His right arm extended to fire the machine gun one handed. He felt the girl’s arm snake around his waist and grab a hold of his belt. Casino drove hanging out the window, steering with his right hand and firing with his left. Garrison, blocked on both sides, could only sit and watch.

As they crashed through the barrier, Actor felt an explosion of pain in his chest, slamming him into the woman, before everything went black. His arm dropped, and the gun fell from limp fingers.

Terry screamed. From then, things seemed to progress in slow motion. She let go of the support and flung her other arm around the man’s waist. He was dead weight and pulling them both off the truck. The clear thought crossed Terry’s mind if Actor was going down, then she was going with him. Craig twisted in the seat, arms flashing out to grab anything. He by some miracle caught Terry’s belt and jerked her hard against the open window. Reaching as best he could, he got a precarious hold of Actor’s shirt.  
Every muscle in Terry’s body strained to keep a hold of the unconscious man. He was taller than her by a good seven inches and outweighed her by at least 60 pounds. Casino could not stop because of the pursuing soldiers. They drove for another mile. The strain was becoming too much for Terry.

“Craig, I can’t hold him much longer,” she cried.

Just then the shooting stopped, followed by an explosion as the last German vehicle crashed into a tree. Casino slowed and eased the truck onto the shoulder, afraid of throwing the two off the running board if he stopped too suddenly.

“Chief!” screamed Terry.

Casino was out the door and around the front as Chief sprinted from the back of the truck.

“Let go,” commanded Casino.

Terry released her hold on Actor and the two men caught him and eased him to the ground.

“Terry!” shouted Casino in alarm.

She followed his gaze. Her shirt was soaked in blood. “Not mine, his,” she said. 

Terry leapt to the ground. Craig came around the front of the truck. Goniff was leaning around the canvas back of the truck, alternately watching what was happening and watching the road behind them for more Jerrys. 

Chief was knelt beside Actor, feeling for a carotid pulse. “He’s alive.”

“Get him in the back of the truck,” said Craig urgently. “We have to get out of here.” 

Casino and Chief picked Actor up and carried him to the back of the truck. Goniff had the tailgate down for them to load him in. He took one look at the unconscious, bloody man and stifled a groan.

Craig grabbed Terry’s arm. “Are you okay?”

Terry nodded. She looked at her brother in anguish. “Craig!”

“I know, Hon,” said Garrison. “Go help him.”

“Get us to that plane!”

She sprinted to the back of the truck. Casino grabbed her by the hips and practically threw her inside. She fell to her knees beside Actor. Goniff slid the first aid kit to her and Chief knelt on the opposite side of the downed man. The truck started off.   
Terry helped Chief pull the shirt from the waistband of Actor’s pants and rip it open. He was still unconscious, breathing shallow and ragged. She noted the unevenness of his chest movements as he breathed. Peeling the soggy material back revealed a sucking hole in Actor’s right rib cage. Terry gasped. She slapped a hand tight over the wound, holding it as Chief turned him to his side and back.

“No exit wound,” he said.

“Oh, damn!” swore Terry. 

She grabbed wads of gauze out of the kit and covered the wound. It was still bleeding profusely. Terry took Chief’s hand and pressed it over the gauze. Ripping tape with her teeth, she sealed the dressing on, placing Chief’s hand back over the injury. Terry moved the duffle bags against the side of the truck and propped herself up against them. 

“Bring him up on top of me,” she instructed. “I need his head up and that wound where I can reach it. I need to keep pressure on it and I can’t do that well enough bouncing around on my knees next to him.”

Chief and Goniff moved the tall man so he rested on top of Terry. She tucked his head to rest against her left cheek, right hand pressing firmly on the dressing. Goniff looked at the con man with wide eyes while Chief took up the watch out the back.

“How bad is it?” asked Goniff. There was more blood on the man and girl than he had seen before on anybody who wasn’t dead.

“Real bad. That bullet is in there somewhere and wherever it is isn’t good. His lung is collapsed. And he’s bleeding bad.”

Goniff’s eyes flashed between her and Actor. “Is ‘e gonna make it?”

Terry’s brows crinkled in anguish. “I don’t know.”

Goniff wished he hadn’t asked.

“What happened?” called back Chief.

Terry shook her head. “We were coming up on the roadblock. He put himself in front of me and he caught the bullet instead of me.”

The ride seemed endless. In spots, the road was very rough, and Terry tried to brace the injured man as best she could. He still did not regain consciousness. After a particularly hard jolt, eliciting a groan from Actor, Terry lost her control.

“Damn it, Casino!” she yelled. “Do you have to hit every pothole in Germany?”

Chief moved to her side and touched her shoulder. “Easy, Girl,” he said. “You want me to do this for a while?”

“No,” she shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’m just so . . .so . . .”

“Scared?” 

Terry looked at him. “Terrified.”

It took two more hours to reach the plane that would take them back to England. Actor’s skin color had a bluish tinge around his mouth. 

They pulled to a stop in a field. The sound of plane engines was loud. Chief and Goniff went over the tailgate and dropped to the ground. Working quickly, they unchained the latches on either side and dropped the tailgate. Two men from the aircraft shoved a stretcher across the floor toward the girl and injured man. The men climbed in and carefully removed the man from atop the girl. 

Terry let the men load Actor onto a stretcher and take him to the plane. She could barely move to get off the floor of the truck. Crawling to get out, she found Joe Gallagher waiting for her. His eyes widened at the bloody clothes she wore as she jumped to the ground.

“It’s not mine.”

Joe grabbed her arm and ran with her to the plane. 

“I need oxygen for him, Joe,” said Terry.

“When we get in the air.”

Inside the plane, Actor was laying on the floor and the others were sitting on the benches that lined the sides of the plane. Craig was on the floor at Actor’s head. Everyone looked to Terry. She pushed the duffle bags against the seat along one wall. 

“Same as before.” 

She sat on the floor, partially reclined against the duffle bags and held her arms out, looking at the men for help.

“You can’t do this for two more hours,” said Craig, gently.

“Yes, I can,” replied Terry stubbornly, as they settled Actor against her. She looked at her brother. “He took a bullet for me. I can do this for him.”

Once airborne, the radio man brought out an oxygen tank and set up a mask for Terry to hold to Actor’s face. Craig brought over a new first aid kit. He piled up more gauze dressings. The ones on Actor were saturated and Terry’s hand had blood running down between her fingers. She let go long enough for Craig to add the new gauze and returned to applying pressure to the wound with one hand and holding the mask to Actor’s face with the other. The siblings communicated to each other with their eyes. They both knew this could easily have a very bad ending. Neither was ready for that to happen. Craig rubbed Terry’s shoulder and took a seat on the opposite bench.

About an hour and a half into the flight, Actor’s eyelids flickered slightly. His mind surfaced to an ocean of pain in his chest and the inability to get enough air. Unable to open his eyes yet, he heard the roar of plane engines and registered the nauseating smell of aviation fuel that threatened to upheave his stomach. The vibration of the floor enhanced the agony in his chest. It took him a moment to realize he was leaning against Teresa. His eyes fluttered open and he looked up at her. She was trying unsuccessfully to smile at him.

“Teresa?” Actor whispered raggedly.

Her face turned to his ear and he heard her whisper, “Hush, caro. Save your breath. Just keep breathing.”

Breathing had become the worst thing in the world, second only to the excruciating fire in his body. He raised his hand clumsily to pull hers with the oxygen mask away. “No.” He had to know, but he had to rest between words, his face contorted with pain.

Craig was the only one to see the movement and watched from where he was.

“Ter-e-sa?” Actor’s voice was as ragged as his breath and barely audible. “Are - - you - - hurt?”

Terry moved the mask closer to him. “No, not a scratch,” she reassured him.

Grazie Dio, he thought. At least he had managed to protect her. “Good,” he replied. He stopped talking to breath and tried to gather himself. He felt her cheek rubbing against his forehead.

“Hush now,” she whispered. “We’re almost to England. Just hang on.”

It was just too hard. He did not want to leave her, but he could no longer fight this. It was time to let go. “No good,” whispered Actor.

“Don’t you die on me, Actor,” hissed Terry tearfully. “If you die, I will never ever forgive myself.”

He did not want to cause her this kind of pain but going on was just too difficult. Easier to let go and stop his pain. Actor gave a tiny shake of his head, closing his eyes.

Terry looked up at her brother with swimming eyes. “Craig?” she pleaded.

Garrison knelt beside Actor. This got the attention of the others. They watched from where they were. All three were suddenly afraid.

“He’s wanting to die on me,” said Terry, tearfully, in a low voice.

Fingers touched Actor’s chin and gently turned his head. He opened his eyes to look into Garrison’s shiny ones.

“Hang on, Actor. Please. We need you. We can’t do this without you.”

“Yes – you can,” came the ragged breathless voice with a small quirk of the corner of the con man’s mouth. He had taught them well, both Garrisons.

“No,” whispered Craig, forcefully. “We need you. I need you. Terry needs you. And if you die it will kill her.”

Merda! The Warden knew how to put that responsibility on his shoulders. Why couldn’t they just let him go? Terry’s cheek rubbed hot wet tears against his forehead. He knew the girl well enough to know she would go to her grave feeling she had caused his death. The younger man was right and was playing the ace card.

“Damn - - you - - Craig.” Actor shut his eyes and grimaced as turbulence tore even more pain through him.

“Please, caro,” begged Teresa. “Please stay with us. We’re almost home. We can get you fixed. Don’t make me bury you.”

They weren’t going to let him go. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t let them down, especially his Teresa. Actor opened his eyes and moved them between the two siblings. “I . . . will . . . try.”

He heard Teresa let out the ragged breath she had been holding. Garrison’s hand cupped the back of his neck. At that moment, the plane bucked with more turbulence. It forced the air out of Actor’s lungs with a groan and he sank limply into the blackness.  
Terry looked at Craig, terrified. His fingers quickly searched for and found a weak pulse.

“Is ‘e dead?” asked a Cockney voice in dread.

“No,” replied Craig. “I have a pulse, but it’s not much of a one.”

The tone of the plane’s engines changed pitch. Terry looked sharply at her brother. “We’re slowing down.”

“Must be coming in.”

Terry looked at Casino. “Are we still over water?”

He looked out the window. “Yeah.”

“One of you, get Joe!” ordered Terry.

Chief jumped to do as she bid. A moment later Gallagher came over to squat next to the Garrisons.

Terry looked askance at him. “Joe, I know you can do it because I’ve flown with you before. Please, Joe, bring this bird in hot.”

Gallagher looked sharply at his two friends and down at the still figure of the man in Terry’s arms. “It’s that bad?”

“It’s down to minutes, maybe seconds,” replied Terry, eyes anxious. “Please, Joe,” she begged.

Gallagher looked at Craig and the same look was in the brother’s eyes. He sighed. “You got it.” He stood and turned back to the cockpit, yelling to Bishop. The engines powered back up. Climbing back into his seat, Gallagher looked at the questioning eyes of his co-pilot. He called the control tower. “Archbury, we’re coming in hot. We need an ambulance and Doc Kaiser on the runway.”

The landing was rough. Thankfully, Actor did not regain consciousness. Terry would be bruised for weeks. When the plane came to a halt, the gruff Major entered. He squatted next to the girl and the injured man. Doing a quick assessment, he did not like what he was finding.

Terry was more in control now and tried to go into nurse mode. “Large caliber bullet to the chest. It’s still in there. Sucking wound. Major blood loss. I think the whole right lung is collapsed.”

Major Kaiser looked at the man and wondered how on earth he could still be alive.

Actor was transported quickly to the base hospital. Terry rode in the back of the ambulance with him, a hand on his chest to make sure he was still breathing. She kept close to him as he was moved from the stretcher onto a gurney.

Kaiser was issuing orders quickly and firmly. The urgency of the matter was seen in the hurried movements of the surgical team and the seriousness on their faces. Terry followed them into the room where they were getting Actor ready. Two nurses were starting intravenouses and putting tubes in orifices. Terry stood in a corner, eyes on the cardiac monitor that was showing his slightly irregular heartbeat. She knew he was still at risk of dying and she was not going to allow that to happen without being there. 

“Terry, out!” ordered Kaiser walking in to do a more thorough assessment of the man. 

“No,” said the girl firmly.

“I don’t have time for this,” barked the doctor. “You are not going in to surgery and I want you out of the way.” 

It wasn’t in Actor’s best interest for her to fight with the Major over this right now. Instead, she pushed out the door and into the hall where her brother and the other men were.

A few minutes later, Actor was pushed out of the room on the gurney. 

“A moment . . . please?” Terry begged the nurses. 

They stopped and the girl went to bend her head down, so her lips were beside Actor’s ear. “Ti amo, amore mio,” she whispered in his ear.

As she straightened and stepped back, Kaiser came out of the room. He blew up. “Garrison, take your sister and your men and get out of here! We’ll take care of him from here!”

Terry straightened and glared in defiance. In a cold hard voice, she said, “I’m not leaving. And I will take down anybody who tries to make me.”

Joe Gallagher walked up at the last part. He shook his head at Kaiser. “She will too.” Kaiser looked askance at Gallagher. “She’s staying,” he ordered.

Without a word, Kaiser turned and went through to double doors to the operating room.

Craig didn’t like it, but he knew when not to press the issue. “We’ll go,” he said. “Just let us know what happens.”

Gallagher nodded. He stepped up beside Terry and said quietly, “Come on. You can wait in the waiting room. You can see the OR door from there. Kit’s got clothes here. I’ll bring you some.”


	2. Chapter 2

An hour later, Terry was showered and wearing Kit’s pants and blouse. The redhead was sitting with her when Doc Kaiser came out of the OR. Terry stood and looked at him apprehensively.

“He’s alive,” said Kaiser. “The bullet did a lot of chest damage.”

Kit swore under her breath.

“Will he be all right?” asked Terry.

“I can’t say yet,” sighed Kaiser. “There’s a problem. He’s lost way too much blood.” 

“So, transfuse him,” said Terry, not understanding what the problem was.

“I don’t have his type,” was the curt reply.

“What type is he?” asked Terry.

“AB negative.”

Terry snorted. “Figures.” She looked hard at Kaiser. “Can you do a direct transfusion?” 

“In an emergency,” replied the doctor.

“I would say this qualifies, wouldn’t you?” Terry grinned humorlessly. “Hook us up, Doc. I’m AB negative.” She turned to Kit, “Go find Craig. He is too.”

An hour later, Terry was lying on a gurney beside and above Actor’s gurney, a line between her arm and his and red blood flowing from her to him. She wished he would wake up or even make any kind of movement. He seemed to have tubes running everywhere. His right elbow was splinted with the large bore metal needle taped in place, the lifesaving blood infusing into a big vein. Another intravenous was in his forearm. A thumb-sized chest tube was in his right chest, seemingly sucking out as much blood as she was putting in him. The tube disappeared over the edge of the gurney and down to the glass suction bottles below. Oxygen tubing was in his nose. Another tube went up into his bladder. Electrodes were attached to his chest and a faint beeping of his heart rate could be heard from the portable monitor at his head. 

A nurse came in and pumped up the blood pressure cuff on his left arm, her stethoscope on the inside of his elbow. “His blood pressure is still low, but it isn’t getting any worse.” She checked the dressing and the chest tube and catheter. “How are you doing?”  
she asked Terry. 

“Fine,” said the girl quietly.

“Can I get you anything?”

Just him alive and well. “No. Thank you.”

The nurse nodded. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes,” she said.

As the nurse walked out, Doc Kaiser walked in. 

“I just spoke with Kit. She can’t find your brother or his men.” 

Terry sighed. “Could you have her call Chris in London and see if Kelly is around? He’s the same blood type.”

“I can do that,” the doctor said. “In the meantime, I need to unhook you.”

“Doesn’t he need more blood now?” asked Terry.

“Yes, but I can’t take anymore from you. It would weaken you too much.”

Terry looked down at Actor. He was still, pasty gray and unconscious on the bed. Terry came to a decision. Kaiser moved the foot of her gurney over to get up to her arm. She casually brought her right knee up and retrieved the knife from her boot. Laying her arm across her chest, she flicked the knife open with a snick. Kaiser stared at it and then her in surprise.

“Sorry, Doc,” she apologized. “Until Craig or Kelly gets here, or I pass out, we keep going.”

“Do you have any idea what you are doing?”

“Yes,” said Terry, resignedly. “You can have me thrown in the stockade later.”

“You could both die,” warned Kaiser.

“Both of us are made of strong stuff, Doc,” said the girl, “I’m willing to take that chance.”

Kaiser looked at the two and wondered at the kind of loyalty he had seen between them. “Put the knife away. Someone might see it. I’ll tell Kit to find your brothers.”

“Thank you,” said Terry quietly. 

A half hour later, Craig entered the room. He looked at both people connected by a tube and shook his head. “Hammond came to Brandonshire and I had to debrief. I didn’t think it would take that long. Kelly is at the base hospital getting two pints taken out of him. They’ll send it by ambulance here. Now, will you unhook?”

Terry nodded. “As long as you promise to hook up in my place.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” said Garrison reassuringly. “I don’t want him to die either.”

Major Kaiser walked in and stepped around the Lieutenant to look sternly at the girl. “Now will you quit?”

“Now I will quit,” answered Terry.

GGG

An hour had passed by the time the large-bore needle was removed from Garrison’s arm. It had taken awhile to get a new intravenous line set up between his and Actor’s arm. Craig was willing to give his second more blood, but Major Kaiser ordered him to stop. Unlike his sister, the Lieutenant obeyed the order from a superior. It made him wonder how Terry had talked the doctor into allowing her to give so much of her own blood. It never entered his mind the girl would pull a knife on an American officer.  
Garrison looked at his confidence man and couldn’t tell any difference in the man’s pasty gray color. He wondered if everything he and his sister had pumped into the man had just run right out through the chest tube. Kaiser seemed satisfied for now, so Craig went along with it.

He was escorted into the hall and handed a glass of orange juice which he was instructed to drink in its entirety. A nurse led him down the hall to the room Actor would be placed in. Craig stopped in the doorway, with his glass of orange liquid, and eyed his sister. Terry was sitting on a metal straight chair, contemplating the quarter-full glass of the same juice that was in her hand. She looked wiped out, but her color had not had time yet to drain away. 

Terry looked up at Craig. “He any better?” she asked.

Garrison shrugged. “I don’t know. I couldn’t see any change.”

Terry lifted her glass almost to her lips and hesitated before choking down the last of the liquid. “I don’t think I will ever be able to stand orange juice again after this,” she said with a grimace.

“Why?” asked Craig.

“This is my third glass. They seem to think I need to drink a lot of it.” She set the empty glass on the bedside table. 

“How much blood did you give him?” asked Craig in wonder.

“Too much,” admitted the girl. “Probably twice as much as you did.”

Garrison looked sharply at her. “I’ll take you back to the Mansion with me.”

That earned him a sharp look. “I’m not leaving. Doc can’t guarantee he won’t . . . die. If heaven forbid that happens, he is not going to die alone. Otherwise, I am not leaving until I know for sure he’s going to be all right. And I’ll fight you to do it if I have to.”

Craig looked at her. Right now, he could probably push her over with one finger. Even so, he would not force her. “Okay, Sis,” he said quietly. “But if you reach a point you want to go back to the Mansion, call and we’ll come get you.”

She nodded, the fight going out of her. The sound of the metal gurney wheels coming down the hall grew louder. Craig looked behind him and nodded at Terry. The girl stood up and blinked hard a couple times, sucking in a deep breath to steady herself. When the lightheadedness passed, she followed her brother a short way down the hall to watch two orderlies and a nurse move the gurney with Actor and all the paraphernalia attached to him into the room. 

The door was closed for about ten minutes. When it opened again, the orderlies moved the empty gurney out and down the hall. Terry walked back into the room. After finishing checking Actor’s blood pressure, the nurse looked up. Terry walked around to stand at the opposite side of the bed.

“Janet,” said Terry, “Can you give me some kind of report on him? I’m staying.”

“I figured you would,” said the nurse. 

Craig stood in the doorway, leaning against the jamb and watched the two women start at Actor’s head and work their way down checking wounds and tubes and wires. He had never had the opportunity, or misfortune, of watching Terry work when she was a nurse. He was impressed with his younger sister. As exhausted and weak as she was, she worked with the nurse, Janet, like a professional. He guessed she really was a professional. Too bad Jake had screwed that up for her too.

Janet moved past Craig in the doorway and nodded to him. He stepped inside the room and hesitated, not knowing if it was okay to get closer for fear of disrupting any of the tubes and lines. Terry sat on the chair. The loss of blood was catching up with her stamina.

“You sure you don’t want to go back to the Mansion and rest a little bit?” he asked. “I’ll stay with him.”

Terry shook her head and looked up at him. “Not that I don’t appreciate the offer, but I need to stay. You’re good at some medical things,” she said,” But . . .” She pointed to the monitor box that showed his heartbeat sliding with little blip noises across the screen. “Do you understand that well enough to know when the manure is about to hit the fan?” He shook his head. “Do you know how to milk a chest tube?” Again, Craig shook his head in frustration. “I do. So, for now, I’m his intensive care nurse. They just don’t have the staff to do one on one with him. And leaving him for even fifteen-minute intervals could have bad consequences, shall we say.”

“But how long can you go on?” asked Garrison in concern for his sister.

She smiled. “Craig, you know the answer to that. We’re Garrisons. We do what we have to do for as long as we have to do it. And longer if necessary.”

Craig nodded in understanding. He felt helpless. Maybe if he got some sleep, when he came back, he could persuade Terry to at least take a nap. Maybe Actor would be awake by then. And maybe the sun would rise over Triple Divide Peak west of the ranch.  
“Look, I’m going back. I’ll come back in the morning. If he gets worse or anything happens, call me,” said Garrison.

Terry tacked on a smile. “I will.” She wasn’t about to tell Craig if Actor got worse, it would probably be permanent, and a twenty-minute drive wouldn’t be quick enough.

With a last look at the Italian’s face, Craig turned and left the room. Terry waited until she was sure he wasn’t coming back in and reached a hand over to rest atop Actor’s near one. 

She spoke softly in Italian. “Vittorio, you’ve come this far. Don’t give up now. Keep fighting, tesoro.”

There was no response. She went back to checking the monitor, the intravenouses, the tubes, and watching his face for any sign of response. 

GGGGG

Garrison managed a couple hours of sleep, but that was all. He looked at his clock and saw it was only two o’clock in the morning. He was worried and knew he wasn’t going to be able to sleep well until he knew Actor was going to be okay. He was going to have to borrow gas rations from Terry with this driving back and forth to Archbury. Trying to be quiet he dressed, turned the light out and slipped out into the hall.

“Goin’ to check on Actor?” 

Craig turned to see a figure lounging in the doorway to Chief’s room.

“Yes,” Garrison admitted. 

The Indian nodded. “If you need anything call.” There was a pause. “Terry’s car has a full tank.”

“Thanks.”

Chief straightened and went back into his room.

GGG

Craig let himself into the hospital room. It was a testimony to his sister’s physical and mental state that her head did not raise from where it lay on the bed at his entrance. He stepped closer to the bed. It was a wonder that Terry could sleep in the awkward, twisted position she was in. Though her face rested on the back of one hand, the other hand was tightly clutching the con man’s limp one. 

The opposite side of the bed was a map of wires, tubes and lines. A small monitor was tucked into a corner, showing the steady heartbeat of the unconscious man on the bed. Craig carefully stepped closer, not wanting to disturb his sister, but needing to be nearer to the man on the bed. With fine caution, Garrison eased himself into a spot beside the bed, not touching anything that was attached to Actor.

He had never seen the Italian that awful shade of pale gray he was now. Craig studied the face of the man. The features were slack, no quirky grin, no open bright eyes showing humor. In some ways he looked younger than he was, and at the same time he appeared significantly older. Garrison did something he would never do if the con man were aware. He laid his hand atop Actor’s and gave a light squeeze. There was no response. The strong hand that numerous times had gripped his wrist with a steely strength to haul him up into the back of a truck or out of a ditch, was soft and limp.

There was no chair available, so Garrison carefully eased a hip onto the bed beside the con man’s leg. The slight movement of the mattress had Terry’s head shooting up, eyes going to Actor’s face, then darting to her brother.

“Sorry,” apologized Craig in a whisper.

Terry shook her head. “What are you doing here?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” said Garrison, not sure he wanted to admit to his sister his feelings for the man on the bed. “He responded any to you?”

“No,” said Terry unable to hide the disappointment that gave her.

Craig took in the pale countenance and dark eyes of the young woman. “You look like shit, Sister. That was a hell of a chance you took giving that much blood.”

“It kept him alive until you got here,” she said defiantly.

“I’m sorry,” apologized her brother. I should have stayed instead of letting Major Kaiser send us away.

“Hindsight is a wonderful thing,” she said wryly. “It’s okay. I’m fine. Hopefully he will be too.”

“You look like you need to be in a hospital bed too.” 

Terry looked at her brother and with a wicked sense of humor, decided she should shock him a little more. “Well, if he didn’t take up the entire bed, and it would give the nursing staff heart failure, I’d slip in on this side.”

Craig figured two could play this game. “I can watch the door if you think you can fit.”

Terry couldn’t help but laugh. It made Craig feel better seeing his sister still had a sense of humor. She straightened, never letting go of her hold on Actor’s hand. She caught sight of her brother’s hand doing the same and sobered.

“He kinda grows on you, you know?”

Craig nodded, deliberately leaving his hand resting atop the older man’s. His voice was quiet as he shared his feelings with his sibling. “I never realized when I first laid eyes on him in Alcatraz that I could possibly come to depend on him as much as I have. I think he had plans from the start of becoming second-in-command and sharing charge. I don’t think either one of us thought it would evolve into a friendship. I never had the luxury of an older brother; someone I could depend on. We didn’t even have Dad.”

“And when we did have Dad, we couldn’t wait for him to leave,” added Terry dryly. 

Craig studied the still face of his friend. And Actor had become a friend. “I don’t know what kind of family he had.”

Terry decided it was safe to share some of the confidence man’s past. “You know about his brother, Marco. His sister died young of some illness. He was on his own when he was sixteen.” She smiled warmly at Actor. “I think we Garrisons may have become the family he was missing.”

Garrison smiled. He looked back at his sister. “Can you sleep like that?”

“I guess I was,” said the girl.

“I’ll stay for a couple hours. Try and get some rest.”

Terry nodded and resumed her twisted position, head on the bed, hand over the con man’s. 

A night nurse came in at four o’clock and firmly pointed out two of them could not be in the room with the patient. The siblings looked at each other. Terry nodded for Craig to go. 

“I’m okay,” she said. “Come back during visiting hours.” There were no set visiting hours.

Craig nodded. “I’ll see you later.”

The nurse turned on Terry. “You’re a civilian. I don’t know how you got in here, but you have no business being in this room. This man is in critical condition and you might touch a tube or wire and hurt him.”

Terry tried to stifle her anger, but only managed to force it down a tiny bit. “Well, it’s like this. One, I’m not a civilian. Two, I am fully aware of his condition. He got in this condition taking a bullet that was meant for me. And, three, if you want to get in a pissing contest with me over who has been a registered nurse longer, you or me, then go right ahead. I guarantee the answer isn’t you. Now you can’t be the only nurse on this unit tonight, so I suggest you find someone else to take this patient and you get the hell out before I throw you out.”

“I will call Col. Gallagher about this,” huffed the younger woman.

“Go ahead,” said Terry, amicably, “but Joe isn’t going to be very happy to be woke up at this hour after he gave orders that I can stay.”

“Joe?” asked the nurse cautiously.

“Yes, Joe,” replied Terry. “You know, Lt. Col. Joseph Gallagher. He and his sister, Kit, taught me to fly. We’re a very loyal group where we’re from.”

The nurse grabbed her clipboard and stormed out of the room. Five minutes later, Cheryl, another nurse, came in with a grin. 

“Vital signs are on the chart,” said Terry indicating the chart hanging from the foot of the bed. 

Cheryl’s grin got bigger. “Wish I could have been a fly on the wall for that one.”

“I wasn’t very nice.”

“Good for you.” The nurse picked up the chart. “Want coffee?”

“Might as well. I’m not getting much sleep. Thanks.”

“I’ll be right back,” chuckling to herself, Cheryl left the room.

Terry looked at the unchanged features of the man in the bed. “Good thing you weren’t awake. You wouldn’t have been happy with me, caro.”


	3. Chapter 3

Terry watched the still face. He remained unconscious. His arm was lying atop the covers, still slightly tanned despite the ordeal he had been and was going through. He looked incongruous in the hospital gown. The girl reached a hand out to slowly and tentatively stroke down the arm to the hand. She did it again, tracing the veins and feeling the light covering of hair on his forearm. The enormity of her feelings for the man hit her with force. Denial wasn’t working right now. Please God, he had to recover! If he didn’t, she knew a part of her would die with him. She continued to stroke the top of his hand and finger the signet ring. Giving in when she knew she shouldn’t, she placed her hand under his and bent to lay her cheek atop it.

On some level, he was aware of what she was doing. He was too snowed from the residuals of the anesthesia and too weak to make the effort to rise to full consciousness. Instead, he stayed unmoving and took comfort from the feel of her touch. He had been aware of her stroking his head at times and running a finger lightly down his cheek. He also knew her touch well enough to know it was her taking care of him, checking the bandage and adjusting tubes. She had cleaned him up at one point, trying gently to get the dried blood and iodine off his skin. He felt the softness of her cheek against his hand. He knew if he were awake, she would not be doing this. It was easier and nicer to stay this way. Right now, he could not force himself to fight the unconsciousness. Maybe later. For now, he drifted in his own little world where he could take comfort from her ministrations.

After a bit, forcing herself upright, Terry reached for the coffee cup Cheryl had brought her and took another sip of the cooling liquid. At least it was real coffee with real caffeine.

GGG

An hour later, stiff, sore and totally exhausted from the ordeal and loss of blood, Terry continued to keep vigil at Actor’s bed side. Looking at her watch, she saw it was a little after five o’clock. There was more noise in the halls now as the day began in the hospital.

For the millionth time, she studied Actor’s face and watched his breathing. It was still a little labored, but much better now that the lung was re-inflating. She wished he would wake up. Reaching a hand out, she took his larger hand in hers and let them both rest on the bed. Fingers slowly curled around her hand.

Terry’s eyes jerked to his face. “Actor?”

Slowly the man’s eyes blinked and opened to focus on her face. She held her breath. 

“You look terrible,” he said quietly in a rough voice.

Terry smiled, “I look a sight better than you, mio amico.”

Actor swallowed, trying to moisten his dry mouth. He frowned at her. “Why so pale?”

“Because you scared the crap out of me,” said Terry, not ready to go into long explanations. “Don’t you ever do that to me again.” She was on the verge of tears. This time of relief.

Actor closed his eyes, but his hand squeezed hers tighter. He spoke again. “You Garrisons are hard to say no to.”

“Yeah,” agreed Terry. “Especially when we both get on the same page.” She swallowed hard.

Actor opened his eyes again. Watching her, he saw a tear escape and roll down her cheek. He lifted her hand and pulled it toward him, coaxing her out of the chair and closer to him. His hand released hers and reached up to wipe the tear away with his thumb. His fingers remained lightly touching her cheek, reassuring himself that she was indeed all right. The green eyes watched him as her hand covered the back of his. She turned her face just enough to press a kiss to his palm before rubbing her cheek against it. The green eyes glassed up again, and Actor watched the play of emotions on her face as she fought the tears.

“Don’t cry, cara mia,” he said.

“Do you have to be so damned gallant?” she asked.

“Always.”

Terry saw he was trying hard to stay awake. She lowered his hand and half stood to lean forward and place a kiss on his cheek. “Go to sleep. I’ll be here.”

“You need to rest,” he admonished.

“I think we will both have plenty of time for that later,” she said. “Right now, I’m not going anywhere.” 

She slipped back to her chair, keeping his hand in hers. To her relief, he seemed to slip into an easy sleep and not the worrisome unconsciousness. Terry knew Doc Kaiser would be around shortly. She would wait until he had examined Actor before calling the Mansion and letting them know he had regained consciousness, even briefly.

When the gruff physician entered the room, Terry told him Actor had awakened briefly and made sense. Kaiser called his name, but there was no response. The doctor felt his wrist and was satisfied with the stronger pulse the man had.

“Actor, wake up,” said Terry. 

While the doctor checked the amounts in the vacuum bottles under the bed and followed the tube up to the dressing on the Italian’s side, Terry attempted to awaken Actor again.

“Attore, ti svegli. Ho bisogno che tu ti svegli,” she said. 

Kaiser glanced at her in interest at the foreign language. Amazingly, his patient’s eyes fluttered and opened. Actor looked up at him.

“How do you feel, Mr. Borghese?” asked the doctor, face not showing how relieved and pleased he was the man had pulled through.

“I believe roadkill would feel better than I do right now,” said Actor weakly.

Kaiser shook his head. “I had my doubts about you for a while, but I think, if things continue to progress, you’ll pull through this.”

Terry let out a small ragged sigh of relief. She had forgotten she had her hand over Actor’s until he turned his over and squeezed hers. Both of them kept eyes on the physician as he listened to heart and lungs.

“The lung is re-inflating and moving more air. Chest tube drainage is lightening up and slowing.” Kaiser walked to the end of the bed and checked the chart. “Vital signs are stable. Blood pressure is a little low, but that’s to be expected with the amount of blood loss.” The Major looked at Terry. “He may need another transfusion at some point, but not from you.”

Terry gave more of a grimace than a smile. “I think I’m a little tapped out right now.”

When the two of them looked up, Actor’s eyes were closed, and he was sleeping.

“I’m not even going to say how lucky this man is,” said Kaiser. “But he is going to have a long recovery.”

“Do you think he can make a full recovery?” asked Terry tentatively.

Kaiser eyed her. “If you’re taking care of him, I don’t think he’ll have a choice. I hear you had a run-in with our resident iceberg.”

“Let’s just say we didn’t see eye-to-eye,” hedged Terry, afraid she was in trouble with the gruff man.

“Not many people do,” said that gruff man with a tiny smile, “but few people stand up to her.” He eyed her dark-circled eyes, pale skin and tired features. “You need sleep.” 

“I’m getting some,” hedged Terry. 

“Yes, in a straight chair,” he shot back with disapproval.

“I’m not leaving, Doc,” said Terry. 

He sighed and shook his head. “I know. Just don’t fall on the floor and crack your head open.”

Terry smiled, “I’ll try not to.”

She waited until after the doctor had left before standing and leaning over to whisper in Actor’s ear. “I’m going to go call Craig. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

There was no response. Terry searched his face with a frown of wonder. She knew the signs. “I do believe you’ve learned how to do it, Vittorio Borghese Mancini. I don’t know how, but you are doing it. Well, that’s fine, just don’t forget to come up for air once in a while.”

GGG

Actor came awake in a haze of discomfort. His neck and shoulders were sore. His side hurt sharply where the tube was. His back ached and hips bones hurt in the back. Carefully, he looked around. 

Teresa was asleep, her bottom on the chair, her torso folded over her thighs, her head on a pillow by his left hip. He couldn’t see her face because the pins were out of her hair and it draped over her face and the pillow. Actor knew the face was pale with dark circled eyes. The woman was exhausted from the mission, caring for him, and the loss of so much of her blood she had made the doctor pour into his veins. She took catnaps in the hard chair, sometimes, as now, resting her head on the mattress. Actor was humbled and felt guilty by the concern and attention she was giving him. He would have to move carefully so not to awaken her.

Girding himself for the pain he knew would come, Actor slowly tried to scoot away from the girl. His ribs protested loudly, and the chest tube wiggled, causing him to grit his teeth. He rested for a second and then attempted to roll onto his left side. The chest tube caught on the bedclothes and pulled, feeling like a butcher knife stabbing into his chest. He tried unsuccessfully to stifle a groan. It came out as a high-pitched quiet sound through clenched jaws as his hand grabbed for the tube.

Terry’s head shot up and she jerked her head to the right to look at him. “What are you trying to do?” she asked with concern.

“Get on my side,” hissed the confidence man. “The tube is caught.”

Terry was on her feet in an instant, leaning across him to see what was going on. “Lay back down,” she urged him. 

As she moved around the foot of the bed, Actor eased back down. He forgot and took a deep breath in response to the pain, resulting in another sharper jab of pain to his chest. Frustration and pain washed over him. Lips pursed tightly together, and his eyebrows furrowed above tightly shut eyes as he tried to regain control. He felt the bedclothes being adjusted and a little movement of the blasted chest tube. Fingers lightly brushed across his forehead and Teresa’s other hand rubbed his forearm. Actor forced himself to relax and turned hazel eyes up to her green ones. 

“Tell me when,” said the girl with a reassuring smile, “and we’ll try this again.” 

After a few moments, he nodded. Actor reached his right arm across his chest for leverage, bent his right leg partly up and attempted to turn again. Teresa’s hand was beneath his hip lifting to help, her other hand supporting and guiding the chest tube. It still felt like a knife through his chest and he grunted in response.

A knock sounded at the door.

“Who is it?” Terry called out.

Garrison peered through the little window in the door and saw what was going on. He pushed inside, shrugging out of his jacket and going to the opposite side of the bed from his sister. “You need help?”

“Get his shoulder and hip,” directed Terry. “Easy.”

Craig placed a hand on his second’s shoulder and replaced Terry’s on the back of his hip, pulling him over. Terry leaned across Actor and grabbed the pillow she had been using, stuffing it one-handedly behind the man’s back.

Actor’s hand had reflexively grasped the lieutenant’s forearm. “Watch the tube,” he complained sharply over his shoulder.

Terry continued to work the pillow under his back. “I have the tube, caro.”

“Not that one, the other one!”

Craig leaned over and saw the catheter tube stretching a little as Actor was turned.

“It’s not going anywhere, Actor,” said Terry calmly.

Actor turned eyes to his male leader for support. “She is going to pull my cazzo off,” he said.

Craig stifled a laugh even though he was sympathetic.

“Trust me, it’s firmly attached,” said Terry. “Ease him back now”

As he lay back against the pillow, Actor sighed with the release of tension on the lower tube and the cessation of movement of the chest tube. “That is your pillow, Teresa,” he said in guilty accusation.

“No, it’s not. It’s yours,” she replied, straightening the bedcovers and adjusting the pillow under his head. She glanced at her brother. “There is a dearth of pillows in this place.”

“I can do something about that,” assured Craig relieved to be able to assist. He gave the Italian’s shoulder a light squeeze of support before heading right back out the door.

Terry reached behind her for the bottle of lotion that was sitting on the table. She squeezed some onto the fingers of one hand and set the bottle back down, working the lotion between her hands. She started on his upper shoulder, working her hand under the gown and rubbing the lotion into his skin. A twitch of the corner of his mouth told her Actor appreciated the gesture. After a couple moments of this, Terry glanced at the door. Her brother was not in sight of the window. That said, she slipped her hand under Actor’s hip and began massaging the bony points of his sacrum and spine. He pushed with his heel to twist around at the waist, giving her more access to his back and other hip. 

“As you say, Teresa, you do do that well,” Actor murmured.

“Anything I can do to make you more comfortable,” replied Terry lightly.

“I wish you would get some rest,” he said. 

Terry adjusted the covers over him and gave a gentle pat to his backside. “I will when we get you back to the Mansion.” She walked around the bed, squeezing his toes in passing, and took her seat back.

“Why do I doubt that,” he grumbled.

Teresa smiled. “Enjoy the attention while you can get it, Vittorio,” she said with a grin in her voice.

One eye opened and glared at her. He knew she knew he was not seeking attention. He hoped she also knew how much he did appreciate it though.

Garrison walked down the hall to where the pay phone was. He was worried about Actor, but he was also worried about Terry. The girl looked like hell. She was pasty white with raccoon eyes from lack of sleep and loss of blood. He hadn’t seen her with her hair hanging loose and limp in a long time. She always tried to maintain some semblance of neatness in front of the others, especially the fastidious confidence man. Putting some coins in the phone, Craig dialed the Mansion. Casino answered, just the person Garrison wanted.

“Casino, I need you to do something for me,” said Garrison. “Well, a couple things actually.”

“Sure, Warden,” answered the safecracker without his usual complaints. “How’s Actor?”

“I guess they would call him stable. He must be getting a little better. He’s awake and grumbling at Terry.”

“That’s a good sign,” agreed Casino. “Whatcha need me to do?”

“Get some pillows out of the spare rooms and bring them out to the base.” Craig paused. “And Casino, take Terry back with you. I don’t care how you do it. Throw her over your shoulder, deck her, just get her out of here so she can rest.”

Garrison could not see the raised eyebrows that request brought. “I ain’t deckin’ her, Warden. I’d end up in the next bed.”

“It was my suggestion,” said Garrison. “I won’t hit you.”

“I ain’t worried about you, Babe,” said Casino. “That woman would probably break my jaw.”

Garrison snorted a laugh. “Yeah, she probably would at that.”

“See yuh in a half hour,” said Casino. “And Warden, don’t worry. I’ll get her out of there.”

Casino hung up and turned to the other two cons in the common room.

“Wot’s going on?” asked Goniff watching him expectantly.

“Warden needs pillows, and he wants me to bring Terry back here. Whether she wants to or not.” Casino grinned.

“How’s Actor?” asked Chief, looking up for his solitary chess game.

“Guess he’s doin’ okay,” shrugged the safecracker. “Warden says he’s fussin’ at Terry.”

Casino bounded up the stairs and retrieved some pillows from the two spare bedrooms. As he walked past the open door to Terry’s room, he paused and looked inside with a grin that would have had the woman worried. He strode inside the room and shut the door. The pillows were tossed on the bed and he made a beeline for the drawer of her nightstand. Sure enough, inside were three keys. One he figured was for the Fox, one for her flat, and the other was a car key. With a wider grin, he worked the car key off the chain and pocketed it. Whistling a dirty tune, Casino picked up the pillows again and went back downstairs.

“Be back in a bit, Boys,” he said and hustled out the door.

Goniff turned to Chief with a knowing look. “’E’s up to somethin’ wot’s going to get ‘im into trouble.”

Chief nodded and got up for the chess table. He walked over to the window and watched the safecracker throw pillows into the car. A grin crossed his face as Casino took off down the drive.

“Yeah,” he drawled. “He’s in for trouble. He took Terry’s car.”

Goniff cackled with delight.

Garrison made a call from the nurse’s desk to the front gate, alerting the guards that Casino was on his way and he was safe to be allowed on base. Safe might not be the right word regarding the safecracker, but it would have to do. 

That done, he went back to Actor’s room. Terry was sitting in the chair again. He motioned her to stay when she went to stand up. Gingerly, Craig sat down on the foot of the bed, eyes watching the con man’s face for any signs of discomfort. Actor looked at him and smiled.

“You are fine, Warden,” he said.

Garrison looked at the intravenous line and chest tube. He could do without looking at the catheter again. Knowing where it went made him want to cringe. “Actor, when you do it, you really do it,” he said.

The older man nodded. “I never do anything halfway. But I do believe I am developing a proclivity for doing damage to myself.”

“Maybe I should quit going out with you guys,” said Terry, guilt heavy in her voice.

Craig remained silent, not knowing quite how to answer that.

Actor reached a hand out for hers. “Teresa,” he said softly. “I would have been hit whether I was standing in front of you, or you were not there. You have kept me from being shot before. And I have been wounded on missions you were not on. None of this is your fault.”

“If you had stayed where you were, I would have taken the bullet, not you,” she persisted. “So, it was my fault.”

“I’m sorry, Teresa,” said Actor firmly. “Not protecting you was not an option for me.”

“Besides,” interjected Garrison. “Look at your height, Terry, compared to his. That bullet would have killed you. So just thank him and give it a rest.”

Terry looked down and intertwined her fingers with the Italian’s longer ones. She cast her eyes at his. “Thank you, Actor.”

“You are most welcome, Little One,” said the con man. Actor was aware of the glassiness of the woman’s eyes. “As long as we are getting maudling,” he added, shifting his eyes to Garrison. “I don’t remember much after taking the hit. I do remember our conversation in the plane. If you two had not made me feel guilty for wanting to quit, I would not be here now.”

Garrison squeezed the knee of the man who was his charge and his friend. 

Actor watched a tear escape down Terry’s cheek. The woman was at the end of her rope. She wiped her cheek against the shoulder of her blouse, never releasing her hold on his fingers. The con man turned his attention to his leader. 

“I seem to be without a clean white handkerchief,” he said trying to lighten the mood. “And your sister seems to be in need of one.”

Craig reached in his back pocket and pulled out a less elegant, but clean handkerchief and held it out to Terry. The young woman was self-conscious and trying to cover it. So, she took it from her brother, snapped it open and held it gingerly by one corner.

“And where has this been?” she asked with feigned suspicion.

“In my pocket,” replied Craig, playing along with her. “It’s fairly clean.”

Terry blew her nose. “Not now.”

Actor gave a snort of laughter and gasped, clutching his chest. “Do not make me laugh,” he admonished.

“Sorry,” apologized the siblings simultaneously.

GGG

Casino pushed into the room without knocking, pillows stuck under both arms. “Hey, Beautiful, brought you a present.” He dropped them on the foot of the bed, next to Garrison. The safecracker’s eyes took in the scene. Garrison seemed quiet. Terry had been crying. It was Actor that got his attention. He was still surprised the lightly olive complexioned Italian could look that pale.

“Man, Actor, you look worse than yuh did with all that makeup when you were playin’ a corpse in the coffin at that monastery.”

“Casino!” objected Terry sharply.

Garrison backhanded the safecracker in the chest.

“Hey!” objected Casino.

Actor shook his head. “He has no appreciation of a good acting job.”

“You ain’t actin’, Babe,” said Casino.

“I meant at the monastery,” said Actor sarcastically back at him.

Terry stood up and picked up the pillows. She motioned Craig to move and he got up. Terry lifted the edge of the blankets and positioned one of the pillows between Actor’s knees. Craig walked around the bed and tucked the other pillow in support of the con man’s back. The third pillow went under his arm and against his chest. Terry sat back down in the chair and Craig resumed his seat on the foot of the bed.

Casino looked at the girl. The last time he had seen her look that bad was when she had been fished out of the Fox’s basement with pneumonia. “You ready to go?” he asked.

Terry looked at him confused. “Go where?”

“Back to the Mansion with me.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” said the girl adamantly.

“Yes, you are,” said Craig calmly. “We’re down for a few days. I’ll stay with Actor. You are going back to the Mansion and get some rest.”

“Oh, no,” denied Terry with certainty.

Casino stepped around Garrison and caught Terry under the arm. She immediately swung at him, missing as he stepped back.

“Careful or you’re going to hurt Beautiful,” warned Casino.

“You get away from me or I’m going to hurt you,” she threatened.

“Terry . . .” admonished Garrison.

“Teresa,” said Actor. 

When she turned her head to him, he beckoned her closer with his fingers. She had come half out of the chair. Now she sat back down and leaned toward him. He beckoned again and she rose from the chair, leaning closer to him. He touched her chin with two fingertips, guiding her down so he could whisper in her ear.

In Italian, Actor spoke softly to her. “Cara, I am very grateful for the care you are giving me. But I am also worried about you. You are exhausted. You are weak and pale. And you aren’t even wearing your own clothing. You can’t go on like this. I will rest better knowing you are in your bed, getting some rest.”

“You don’t want me here?” asked Terry worriedly in Italian.

Actor’s fingertips were still under her chin and he ran his thumb along her jaw. “I would be lying if I said I do not take comfort from your presence. But I would not and will not ask you to make the sacrifices you have made for me.”

“They were and are given freely, caro,” replied Terry. “As I know you have done for me.”

The corner of Actor’s mouth turned up in a half smile. “Go home, Teresa. Get some sleep.”

“Okay,” she agreed. “But I’m coming back.”

“I will look forward to it,” he assured her.

If her brother and Casino had not been there, Teresa would have kissed him. As she backed away, Actor held a finger up to stop her. She leaned down closer, not knowing what he wanted. He kissed his fingertip and touched it to her lips. With a smile, she made a kissing motion with her lips back to him.

Standing, Terry turned to the other two men. She regarded them with narrowed eyes. “Okay, you win.” As she stepped up to her brother, she paused. “Anything. Anything at all. You call me!” she said evenly and firmly.

Craig nodded. 

“Come on, Babe,” coaxed Casino.

Terry preceded him out of the room.

GGG

“Boy, she is stubborn,” said Craig with a shake of his head. He sat down in the chair Terry had just vacated.

“She worries too much,” said Actor.

“That she does . . . and well,” agreed Garrison.

Actor wanted to go back to sleep, but he knew there was more to come, and he wished to get it over with. “I assume now that she is gone, you wish to address the issue.”

“Don’t know what issue you’re talking about, Actor,” said Garrison casually.

“Come now, Lieutenant,” scoffed the confidence man, “do not try to con me. I am sure you have grave concerns about the relationship between myself and your sister.”

“Do I need to have ‘grave concerns’?” asked Garrison playing the game.

“No,” replied Actor.

“Well. You can’t deny there isn’t something between the two of you. This blew any doubts right out of the water,” said Garrison.

Actor dipped his head in agreement. “I can’t explain it and I have no intentions of trying. Teresa and I do not discuss it.”

“Do the others know?” asked Garrison curiously.

Actor shrugged his eyebrows. He had never thought much about it. “I imagine Chief has an inkling. I was a bit out of control when Teresa was almost – raped.” He continued on. “Casino seems to be aware of it. I believe he has feelings for her himself.”

“I have gotten that impression,” agreed Garrison. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“So far not,” said Actor.

Craig was more that curious. “Do you and Terry even have a clue what you are going to do?”

“Nothing,” said the con man. “As I said, we do not discuss it. For my part, I cannot drag her into my world and if the offer was presented, I doubt she would accept. And there is the age difference between us.”

“The first part, you might be right,” said Garrison. “The second part I don’t think she gives a damn about.”

It was the Italian’s turn now. “The next question, Lieutenant, is what are you going to do about it?”

Garrison eyed his second. “What do you think I should do about it?”

“Send me back to Alcatraz?” It was what Actor assumed would happen.

Craig laughed. “No way. I need you and you aren’t getting out of this that easily.”

Actor looked at him questioningly.

Craig grinned. “If you decide you want away from Terry, you’re going to have to handle her yourself. I stepped between her and a man once before. I was wrong to do it and I swore I would not do it again.”

“Warden,” said Actor with a sigh. “You need not worry. It cannot work between us.”

Craig kept his thoughts to himself. At one time he would have believed that. But now he wondered. They could probably work past the age issue. It was Actor’s choice of profession that would be the game breaker.


	4. Chapter 4

Terry pulled up short when she saw the green MG parked by the hospital entrance. It figured. It was Casino after all. “I think you guys drive this thing more than I do,” she grumbled.

“Hey, gotta grab the chance to drive it when we can get it,” replied Casino, holding the passenger door open for her to get in. 

After fighting to stay awake and aware of Actor’s condition, even with the tiny cat naps she took holding his hand, Terry felt what little energy she had drain from her. Now, all she wanted was to climb into her bed and get a couple hours of sleep before returning. She slumped silently in the seat and gazed forward, eyes focused on nothing. She was aware of Casino’s sideways glances at her but had no energy or desire to respond.

He waited until they were on the main road before he spoke. “Guess you and Actor are closer than you said.”

She did not want to have this conversation with the safecracker but knew if she didn’t, he would not let it go, worrying it like a dog with a bone. “I guess we are,” she replied. 

“You sleeping with him?” 

“What business is that of yours?” she asked. “Of course, we are. Every night. Can’t you hear the headboard hitting the wall in his room?”

“Guess you’re not,” he conceded. There was a long pause. “Any chance for me?” he asked seriously.

Terry’s head turned to stare at him. “Chance for what?” she demanded.

“You and me bein’ together?”

“Charlie, I am not in the market for a husband and I don’t sleep around like you do. So whatever way your mind is going, no.”

Casino’s fingers stretched on the steering wheel. “I guess I deserved that.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” said the girl. “This is not a good time to have this discussion. I’m tired and I can’t think straight anymore.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. 

Terry didn’t know how to handle this thing with Casino. “Listen,” she attempted. “When this war is over, you’ll go back to your family, I’ll go back to the ranch, and Actor will go wherever it is Actor goes.”

“That’s if we survive this war. Actor’s usin’ up his nine lives.”

“Him, Craig, you. There isn’t one of us who hasn’t been shot. And it doesn’t look like this is going to be ending any time soon,” said Terry wearily. She leaned her head back against the seat. “Sorry I took a swing at you.”

“No problem, Babe,” said Casino. “I told the Warden you would.”

Terry’s head turned. “He put you up to this?”

“He said I should take you back with me.” Casino darted a glance at her as he skirted a pothole. “You can’t keep on without any sleep. You look worse than Actor does. At least he has a little more tan and his skin color.”

“Guess it’s Dad’s side of the family. Scots-Irish-English. Only shows up on me when I need an oil change.”

“I think you need a tune up too, Babe.”

When there was no response, Casino glanced at her again. She was still facing him, but her eyes were closed, and her head rested against the seat back. Well, it was another fifteen minutes to home. Funny how the Mansion was becoming home to them. Haven, their own personal safe house. Except it wasn’t as safe as they thought. It had been breached and the woman beside him had been badly injured. He knew he had feelings for her and that had cinched it, but she didn’t have the same feelings for him.  
The driveway to the Mansion came up on the left and he turned onto the gravel lane. The Mediterranean style building came into view. Now all he had to do was get her inside. He backed up and parked close to the granite steps and shut the motor off. 

“Terry?” There was no response. Casino brushed the hair on her forehead to the side with a forefinger tip. “Terry, Honey, wake up. We’re here,” he said a little louder. 

The girl’s eyes opened with a frown. She glanced out the window at the Mansion. “Okay.”

Casino got out with the intention of opening her door and carrying her up the steps. She anticipated that and was out the door and to the bottom of the steps before he could reach her. 

“Let me take you up,” he said quietly.

She shook her head. “I can make it just fine.”

Apparently the only one she’d let carry her was Actor. Figured. Casino pushed the passenger door shut and followed her. For someone in the shape she was in, she could still move fast. That was until she got inside. Not even looking at the two men sitting in the common room, she started up the stairs, pulling herself along the bannister. 

“Hey, Love, are you going to make dinner tonight?” asked Goniff hopefully. He didn’t get an answer. 

Goniff and Chief exchanged a look with Casino. The safecracker shook his head. They waited until they heard the girl’s bedroom door shut before talking.

“She looks bad,” said Chief.

“Yeah, an’ wot about Actor?” asked Goniff.

“Man,” said Casino, taking a seat at the table, one arm over the wooden back of the chair. “I’ve never seen anybody with so many tubes and wires attached before.”

“He awake?” Chief asked.

Casino nodded. “Awake, talks and makes sense. Still has some control over Terry. She swung at me and he made her go with me.”

Goniff eyed his friend. “She must ‘ave missed. Your jaw isn’t broke.”

Casino gave a snort. “I don’t think she had the strength tuh do any damage if she had connected.” 

He picked up a deck of cards and began to shuffle. Laying out a game of solitaire, he absently began to play, not bothering to cheat this time. After a few minutes, he pushed back his chair and headed for the stairs. Terry’s door was closed. He tapped lightly. There was no response. Cautiously, Casino eased the door open. The girl was sprawled facedown across the bed, clothes and boots still on. The safecracker shook his head and walked in, shutting the door silently behind him. He took hold of an ankle and gave a tug.

“Come on, Babe, wake up a minute.”

She groaned and twitched. Casino took a chance and grasp her upper arms, turning her over and pulling her around. One blackened eye opened.

“Leave me alone,” she begged.

“No. Yuh ain’t gonna rest that way.” 

H picked up a dusty black leather clad foot and worked the boot off, tossing it by the desk. The other boot went with it. Casino took hold of her arm and pulled her limply up to a sitting position. Both of Terry’s eyes were open now and focused on his hands beginning to unbutton her blouse, or rather Kit’s blouse. She swatted lethargically at him hands.

“I can do it.”

“I’m doin’ it. I can do it faster. Besides you don’t have anything I haven’t seen already.” 

Terry’s chin dropped to her chest. Figures, thought Casino, she wasn’t wearing a bra, but the one she had been wearing was probably ruined with Actor’s blood. Her gown was peeking out from under the pillow and he pulled it free. She held her arms up but swayed in a circle as he slipped it over her head and pulled her arms through the holes for them. Moving in close, Casino slipped an arm around Terry’s waist and pulled her to her feet. She rested heavily against his shoulder as he flung the bedcovers back. Next, he eased her down on the bed and swung her feet up. It was hard to say if the girl was still awake or not. He unbuttoned the waist band of her pants and pulled the zipper down. 

“Lift your hips up,” Casino said.

Terry bent her knees up and lifted her backside. “Leave the underwear on,” she said firmly. “You haven’t seen that yet and you aren’t going to.”

“Don’t imagine yours is any different from any other dame’s,” said Casino.

He did leave the panties on. Her eyes were closed but her right arm bent droopily up at the elbow with her middle finger extended before flopping back down. Casino chuckled. He pulled the covers over her and headed for the door.

“Thank you, Charlie,” said Terry groggily.

“Anytime, Baby,” he replied. He smiled when he saw she was back asleep.

It was dark in the room when Terry awakened. She rolled over and looked at the luminous hands and numbers on her alarm clock. Four-thirty. Why was it so dark? Somebody must have closed the blackout drapes to help her sleep. By the time she got showered and dressed and back over to the base hospital, it would be time for supper and Craig could come home and eat here or stay there to eat. She tossed the covers back and sat up on the edge of the bed, yawning. She could have used another twelve hours of sleep, but she didn’t like leaving Actor that long, even if her brother was there. 

Terry got up and dragged herself into the bathroom. It was sure quiet in the house. How nice. The guys were being considerate. Passing by a window on her way to get clothes out of the armoire, Terry pulled the curtains back. It was black outside and she had the desk light on. She quickly pulled the curtains shut. Another look at the clock confirmed it was ten minutes later than when she had first looked. It wasn’t four-thirty in the afternoon, it was four-thirty in the morning. Why hadn’t somebody gotten her up? They knew she would want to get back to the hospital.

Dressing quickly, Terry ran lightly down the stairs, grabbed her purse and car keys and was out the door to her car in less than five minutes. Chief was the only one to hear the car motor turn over and the car pull away. He listened intently and heard the engine roar when the car turned onto the road. 

Craig looked up in surprise to see Terry back. Well, she had been gone quite a while. He watched her approach Actor carefully from the other side of the bed. Eyes took in color and breathing. The tubes going to the suction bottle and catheter bag were checked. She carefully slipped a middle fingertip under the man’s wrist and counted a pulse. When she looked up at him, he motioned with his head for them to step into the hallway. Terry nodded and followed him. They kept the door to the room open just enough to see if Actor awakened or moved.

“I uh think he’s learning our tricks,” whispered Craig.

“Is he asleep or did he go under?” asked Terry, not surprised.

“Right now, he’s sleeping,” replied Garrison. “I’d swear he went into that hiding place in his mind after you left.”  
Terry nodded. “I think he did it earlier. Doc Kaiser came in and talked to him. Nothing. I spoke to him in Italian and told him he needed to wake up. He did. So, if he’s doing it, he hasn’t gotten to the point of not letting people wake him.”

“I wonder how he learned,” voiced the young officer.

Terry shrugged. “He’s asked enough questions about it. You do it, I do it, Chief does it. Heck, he picks up everything else, why not this too?”

“I never thought of it as being something you could learn.”

“Look at us,” Terry peeked into the room. “We’re Heinz 57, Chief is Apache, Monty is Lakota. We all must have learned somehow.”

Actor twitched a shoulder and the pain caused him to awaken. 

“I’ve got him,” said Terry. “I should be good for another twenty-four hours. Stay or go, it’s up to you.”

Garrison looked at the confidence man watching them. “I’d better go. I don’t trust those three alone for too long.”

He entered the room before his sister and walked up to the bed. “She’s back. I’m going. I’ll be back this afternoon.”

“Thank you, Warden,” said Actor. “I’m sorry to be a bother to you two.”

“No bother, Actor,” smiled Garrison crookedly. “How many times do you do it for us?”

A small smile graced the con man’s face. “It is too many for all of us.”

Craig had to agree with that. In a rare gesture to the alert man, he patted Actor’s knee. “Later. Get some rest while they let you.”

Actor would have chuckled, but he didn’t want to do anything to jiggle that blasted chest tube, so he just nodded. After Garrison had left the room, the Italian turned his attention to the girl. She looked slightly more rested, and the dark circles under her eyes were slightly less distinct than before. There was a scant creamy color to her face. 

“Make up?” he asked.

Terry smiled. He would notice that. “I have to look good for my only patient.” She frowned, “maybe I’m not up to good yet.”

“Just how much did you give me?” asked the man in concern.

“Probably close to half,” replied the girl with a voice of unconcern.

“Teresa!” 

“Hey, you lost almost all you had. I quit as soon as they could hook Craig up. Kelly sent two pints.” She sat down in the chair her brother had vacated. “You better hang on to what you have. You’re running out of Garrisons. Chris is plain old everyday type O positive.”

Actor withdrew into himself. The thought that all three of them had given their blood for him was humbling. Only a year ago, they had not known him. He had been basically a stranger to them in the beginning. Somehow, they had become almost friends. Garrison was still his commanding officer and that would not change, but he was also a friend and brother now. Not that Actor would admit that aloud. And Teresa. On more than one occasion she had said he was important to her. Important enough to risk her own life and health by giving him so much of her blood. He still had enough medical learning to know what she had done was dangerous. The dream came back to him.

Frowning, he looked at the girl. “Did you pull a knife on Major Kaiser?”

That came out of left field for the girl. “You were unconscious. How did you know?” she asked in disbelief.

Actor shook his head. “I thought it was a dream.”

Terry avoided his eyes. Her voice was quiet. “You needed blood and I was the only available one at the time. Don’t get your shorts in a knot, caro. It’s done and it’s over. We’re both going to be fine.”

Actor noticed her embarrassment and tried to circumvent it. “I don’t believe I’m wearing any shorts.”

Terry turned her head to stare at him. He smiled that crooked grin, but his eyelids were heavy.

“You’re not,” she said with a matching smile. “Actor, it’s six-thirty. You should be able to get another hour of sleep.”

“That’s all I seem to do,” he lamented. 

“That’s all you should be doing right now,” said Terry soothingly. “We’ll see what Doc says when he makes rounds. You know it’s going to be a long slow process.”

“And you will stay with me the whole way.”

“Unless you don’t want me to,” she said.

In response, Actor slid his hand over hers and held it in a weak squeeze. He closed his eyes. Terry kept her hand under his.

It was an hour later when Major Kaiser made his rounds. He nodded when he was through examining Actor. “He’ll breathe a little easier with his head elevated a little more. You can go up to forty-five degrees,” he instructed Terry. 

“Solid food?” she asked. 

“Something light. Toast to start out with. See how he does. We’ll get another CBC to see how his blood count is holding.”

“Thank you, for what you have done for me,” said Actor. 

“You are an amazingly strong man, Mr. Borghese,” said Kaiser. “You should have died on the flight here.”

“The Lieutenant and Teresa would not allow that,” said the Italian with a small smile at the girl.

“I can understand that,” said the Major with a shake of his head.

“Sorry, Doc,” apologized Terry, knowing he was referring to the knife.

“No, you’re not,” countered Kaiser, but a smile belied the gruffness of the delivery. “Carry on, Nurse,” he said as he left the room.

Terry went to the foot of the bed and pulled the handle out. Slowly she cranked the head of the bed up a little before stopping to see his reaction. When he nodded encouragement, she cranked it up more. When she reached the forty-five degrees semi-Fowler’s level, she stopped.

The change in position helped his back, thought Actor, and it did seem to make breathing a tiny bit easier. He watched the girl settle back on the chair. Fifteen minutes later, the day nurse, Janet, walked in pushing an overbed table with a food tray atop it. It was positioned on an angle in front of Terry and across Actor’s thighs. Janet lifted the lid off the plate of food. Terry and Actor both stared at the eggs, bacon, and toast on the plate. A cup of coffee was next to it.

“This is what all the patients got this morning,” said the nurse. “Mr. Borghese can only have toast, but I figured you won’t mind eating the rest,” she said to Terry.

“Thank you,” said Terry gratefully. 

Janet smiled and left the two to their breakfast. 

Actor eyed the plate and looked at Terry. “You may have the whole thing. I’m not hungry.”

Terry gave him a stern look. “Doc said toast. Three bites, Mr. Borghese, three bites and then you can quit if you want.” This was like raising Kelly when he was a kid. Did they never grow up?

“What are you, Teresa? My mother?” said the disgruntled Italian.

“Looks like it. Eat. Three bites.”

Actor gave her a dirty look and picked up a half slice of toast. Very deliberately he took a bite and chewed it. Actually, it tasted good even though it did not have butter or jam on it. A sidewise glance showed him the girl was eating the scrambled powdered eggs with relish. He took another deliberate bite of toast, chewed and swallowed. His stomach did not object, so he took the third bite. About that time, Terry picked up the institution China cup and took a sip of coffee.

“Coffee, please.”

Terry looked at him from the top of her eyes. “You want coffee.”

“I asked for it, did I not? I am allowed clear liquids. You did not put cream in it, so it is a clear liquid. Any sugar?”

Terry searched the tray the plate was on and only came up with a little bottle. “Nope, Saccharin.”

“Straight then. I don’t know how Goniff eats that stuff.”

Terry chuckled. “He only ‘eats’ it if I’m out of sugar.”

Actor held a hand out. Teresa let him take the cup and watched him take a sip. A smile of contentment crossed his face. He took another sip. Terry took the cup away from him without much of an objection.

“Don’t you dare get sick on me.”

“I am . . . ‘fine’,” Actor said mimicking the Warden.

It was the first time since he had been shot that he saw a big grin on her face. To make her happy, he finished the toast. As a reward, he was given another sip of coffee. He swore sometimes Teresa acted like a mother.

That was confirmed later in the morning when one of the nurses came in to give him a bed bath. Instead of going out, Teresa assisted. Actor had to admit it made the moving and bathing go faster. Changing the linens on the bed was as painful as turning had been earlier but getting off his back was almost a delight. 

Later in the afternoon, Garrison quietly entered the room and the other three cons squeezed in just as quietly. Actor was tilted onto his uninjured side, supported by pillows, sound asleep. Terry was twisted with her head on the bed beside him, also asleep. His hand rested on her head and her hand was on his knee. 

Craig stepped closer and gave his sister’s shoulder a light shake. As before, her head shot up, dislodging Actor’s hand and awakening him. Craig grimaced. He had been hoping to wake the girl up without waking his second in command. 

“Sorry,” apologized Craig.

“It’s okay,” said Actor. “Ah, you all came this time.” He tried to keep the pleasure out of his voice. 

Terry turned her head toward him. “You want to go on your back and sit up a little?”

“Yes, that would be good,” replied the Italian.

Terry shooed the other men out into the hall with a flicking of her hands. “Craig . . .”

“I know the routine,” he said, moving to the side of the bed. “Watch the tubes.” Garrison was happy to see the lower tube was gone. Apparently, Actor was improving. 

They got Actor onto his back, but his feet were hanging off the end of the bed. 

“Swap sides,” Terry told her brother. She beckoned Casino and Chief to come in as she and her brother danced around each other at the foot of the bed. 

She instructed her brother to take the draw sheet that was somehow still under Actor’s hips and for the other two men to each take a leg. She positioned Actor’s hand so he was holding the chest tube to his chest and took the sheet on her side. Counting to three, the four of them pulled the big man up to the head of the bed. After a quick check of the chest tube and dressing, Terry squeezed around Casino and cranked the head of the bed up slowly. 

Straightening, Terry moved back to the side of the bed with all the tubes and wires, motioning Goniff it was okay to come in. 

“He looks better than he did,” observed the cracksman.

“That ain’t sayin’ much,” said Chief wryly. 

“I am right here, Gentlemen,” said Actor sourly. “You needn’t talk about me as though I am a piece of furniture.”

“Sounds better too,” added Goniff with his funny grin.

They all noticed the voice was still weaker than normal, but they did not remark on it. 

“How much longer before you can get outta here?” broached Chief.

Actor shook his head with a tiny shrug of his shoulder on the good side. 

Terry answered the question as best she could. “He has to get the chest tube out, be able to breath without oxygen, and get all these tubes and things off, eat regular food, and be able to walk at least far enough to get to the bathroom in his room.”

“You don’t have one in this room,” noted Casino.

“No, it is down the hall,” said Actor wearily. He did not like being unable to get up and take care of himself, but he was almost getting used to Teresa helping him with those things.

Garrison knew how weak the man was and did not want the men overtiring him, so he shooed them out and motioned for Terry to come into the hall. 

Casino hung back and stepped closer to Actor’s uninjured side. He was quiet and would not meet the Italian’s eyes. His voice when he did speak was quieter than Actor’s. 

“Maybe I should have said no to the Warden about running that roadblock,” he offered, eyes now darting to the tubes.

“No, Casino,” replied the confidence man. “It was the only choice we had. There was no way to run a con, neither myself nor the Warden. We had to run it. They would have shot all of us.” Actor watched the safecracker. “You had to do what you did, as I had to protect Teresa from being shot. She’s a woman. And she’s been shot too many times as it is.”

“Once is too many,” said Casino.

Actor nodded in agreement. “I’m glad you got her to go to the Mansion, even for a little rest.”

“You need anything?” Casino asked.

“To have my head examined?” asked Actor. “I could have stayed in Switzerland.”

“Naw, too boring.”

Actor grinned and gave a chuckle that ended sharply as his elbow tucked into his side near the chest tube at the sudden pain.

“Sorry.”

“Casino!” Garrison’s voice broke the comradery.

“Comin’,” grumbled the safecracker. Now he looked Actor in the eye. “See yuh later,”

The con man nodded with a small smile. He watched the men disappear down the hall and Teresa enter the room. She took her seat beside his bed. 

“And what did the Lieutenant have to say that he couldn’t say in front of me?” asked Actor.

Terry shook her head. The man was getting grumpy. “I was asleep when they came in. Craig wanted to know if I wanted him or of the others to stay with you so I could go home and rest.”

“Obviously, you said no.”

“Here, I’m resting,” said Terry with an amused expression. “If I went back to the Mansion, I would be doing the cooking and cleaning. Not what I call rest.”

“Upright is not resting well. You need to be horizontal. If you could squeeze in alongside me,” he tentatively broached.

Terry grinned. “I suggested that to Craig. He thought it was funny. Offered to guard the door.”  
That brought a raised eyebrow. “Obviously you did not do it.”

“Obviously.” She shot a glance out the door to see if anyone was close and leaned nearer to Actor. In a low voice she said, “If I’m going to sleep with you, caro, I’d rather do it when you can enjoy it.”

“That would be appreciated,” admitted the Italian. “I was merely suggesting sleep for you.”

“Not with all that stuff still attached to you,” said Terry. “Besides, I’d get thrown out of here.”

“Yes, more’s the pity.”

The tone of his voice brought an amused smile to the girl’s face. “Do you want to go back flat?”

“No, this is fine for now,” said Actor, closing his eyes.

He heard her get up and felt her closeness as she leaned over and pressed a kiss to his forehead. The downward curves of the corners of his mouth twitched up.


	5. Chapter 5

Terry smoothed the fresh sheets she had put on the bed, fluffed the pillow and straightened the covers that were folded at the foot of the bed. Everything was ready for Actor when he got there. It wasn’t raining yet and the curtains blew in slightly with the fresh cool breeze. Puffy white clouds drifted slowly across the blue sky ahead of the storm that was coming. All it seemed to do was rain here. At least it wasn’t snow twelve months out of the year as it was at the ranch. 

The house was nice and quiet. The men were on a mission so perhaps Actor could get some more rest before the onset of the arguments and fights. Maybe she could too. However, with the men gone, Terry wasn’t strong enough to get Actor up two flights of stairs by herself, so he was returning on a stretcher with an ambulance crew. 

Oh, crap! She had forgotten the coffee for the ambulance crew. Terry grabbed the linen she had removed from the bed and bounded down the stairs. The linen was tossed on the floor next to the wash machine in the utility room and a pot of real coffee was started on the gas hob. She opened the cupboard for clean coffee cups and found mostly empty space on the shelf. Turning, she sucked in one cheek at the pile of dirty dishes in the sink. What happened to the good old days when the guys took turns with the chores?

Turning the water on to get hot, Terry piled the dirty dishes on the counter, plugged the drain and sprinkled dish flakes into the dishpan in the sink. She sorted out the coffee cups and smaller plates. The rest could sit and soak to loosen up the dried food. Greasy Spam from the looks of it. Seems she was back to cooking again. She washed the cups and plates, rinsed and dried them. They were lined up on the table. With time left yet, Terry started on the other dishes. Finally, she gave up and let them soak. Drying her hands, Terry went to the front door and stepped out on the portico, listening. There was no sound of a heavy truck engine, so she went back inside and went up to shut the window in Actor’s room. The breeze had a chill to it now.   
All this running up and down the stairs was wearing her out and the confidence man wasn’t even here yet. She went into her bedroom that faced the driveway and sat at her desk to start a letter to her mother and Cinder. She hadn’t gotten very far with that when the ambulance arrived. Putting the letter into the middle desk drawer for later, Terry went downstairs and met the crew at the door. 

As they worked their way inside with the stretcher, Terry said, “Upstairs, first hall to your right and . . .”

“I know where he lives,” said a male voice behind her with a touch of humor.

Terry turned and smiled. “Oh, hi, John. I didn’t see you.”

The brown-haired medic grinned at her and they followed the men with the stretcher up the stairs. As they walked down the hall, John teased. “Terry, we have to stop meeting like this. People are going to talk.”

The girl chuckled. “I’m alone in the house with this one,” she pointed her thumb at the stretcher. “You think they don’t already talk about me?”

“I believe your virtue is safe right now,” said a slurred voice from the stretcher.

There were stifled chuckles. Terry shook her head.

“Is he loaded?” she asked the medic.

“To the gills as they say,” affirmed John. “Some idiot gave him a full dose on top of not enough blood.”

“Morphine I assume?”

John nodded. 

“How nice,” said Terry in disgust.

They watched from the doorway as Actor was moved to the bed. He had on a hospital gown. That would work for now. 

“He slept maybe ten minutes when we left the hospital,” said the medic. “We went slow to avoid the potholes as much as we could.” The man looked back up the hall to the room next to Actor’s. “Lt. Garrison,” he nodded with his head. Pointing with his forefinger at the room on the other side of Actor’s, “Don’t know that one. The one on the end on the other side is Chief. Don’t know the one across from Actor, or the one facing down the hall.”

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean there weren’t injuries. Just that they were either brought here from London or we could manage them ourselves.”

“Can you handle him?” asked John.

Terry nodded with a resigned smile. “And as they say in my neck of the woods, ‘this ain’t my first rodeo’.”

“Full of clichés today, aren’t we.”

They both laughed. With Actor in bed, the two stretcher bearers worked their way out with the canvas and wooden poles rolled up between them.

“Coffee’s in the kitchen,” said Terry. “Help yourselves. And thank you.”

“Anytime, Ma’am,” said one of the stretcher bearers.

Terry went in the bedroom while the men went back downstairs. She closed the door partway and moved over to stand beside Actor. He looked up at her with heavy eyelids over pinpoint pupils. 

“They gave me way too much,” he slurred groggily.

“I can see that,” said Terry with a smile. “Let me check your side and then you can sleep it off.”

He didn’t wait for her to finish examining the bandage over the sutured chest tube wound before falling asleep. Terry tucked the covers around him. With a grin of affection, she kissed the end of her forefinger and touched the tip of his nose. He hated when she did that, but he wasn’t awake to know. It looked like she would be writing to her mother in here instead of washing dishes. She wanted him more awake before she left him alone for any length of time. Terry strode down the hall to her room, retrieved the letter and went back to Actor’s room. She pulled the desk chair out, sat and took a pen from the drawer. 

A few minutes later, she heard the front door open and stepped out into the hall. Footsteps bounded up the stairs and John stuck his head around the corner.

“We’re leaving now. Thanks for the coffee.”

“Thanks for bringing him.”

John gave her a one fingered salute and trotted back down the stairs and out. 

GGG

Actor felt hungover and he did not get hangovers. He hated morphine. Slowly he opened his eyes. The room wasn’t spinning so that was a plus. He turned his head and saw Teresa tilted back with his desk chair on its hind legs and her feet crossed on the desktop. She was seemingly engrossed in a book from the Mansion’s library.

“You don’t have to sit with me all the time,” Actor grumbled. 

Terry turned her head to look at him. “I wasn’t planning on it, caro. But with your lungs not back to normal yet, I didn’t want to leave you alone with all that morphine in you.”

“That was prudent of you,” he added with a more benign tone. “I’m sorry, I am just . . .” 

“Tired, hungover, and plain don’t feel good,” finished Terry. 

She placed a bookmark in the book and closed it. Lifting her feet off the desk and maintaining her balance as she brought the chair down on all four of its legs, Terry lay the book on the desk and stood up. She moved over to the side of the bed and looked at the Italian’s eyes. 

“Pupils are almost back to normal,” she said with a nod. “You going to stay awake for a while?”

“I think so,” replied Actor.

“In that case, I’ll go finish the sink-full of dishes the guys so nicely left for me and start supper.” She smiled at him. “Need anything before I go?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Terry back away and turned to leave. She paused at the open door and looked back. “And if you get dizzy when you sit up to go into the bathroom, please call me. I really don’t think I can get you off the floor right now. And you make a horrible thunk over the top of my head in the kitchen.”

“I would still like to know how you got me back into the bed that time.”

“No, you don’t.” She grinned and went down the hall. 

Actor waited until he heard her going down the stairs before pushing the covers aside and with a grimace of pain got his feet over the edge of the bed and sat up. Of course, there was dizziness, but not bad and it passed immediately. Carefully, he rose to his feet. The room was steady. Not bothering with slippers, he slowly walked barefoot to the bathroom with a smile of triumph on his face. 

Terry was filling the sink with fresh, hot, soapy water when the water pressure dropped. She looked up at the ceiling with a wry eye. “Men,” she said in disgust and went back to her dishes. There was no ‘thud’, so she continued washing. 

The storm moved in with wind, cold and slashing rain. Terry started a fire in the fireplace in Actor’s room to keep the chill and dampness away. The man was reclined against the headboard on pillows borrowed from the spare room.

“Where did they go this time?” Actor asked.

“I think Craig said Holland. It doesn’t look like they’ll be getting back tonight.” Terry sat on the bed, beside his knee. “Okay, what can I get you to keep you from being bored out of your mind?”

“My pipe would be nice,” he said wistfully. 

“Nope. Doc said not for a week. What else? Can you read all right?”

“I think so,” said Actor. He hadn’t expected the girl to let him smoke anyway. “I left a book beside my chair in the downstairs common room when we went on that last mission.”

Terry smiled and bounced out of the room, not seeing Actor’s crooked smile and shake of his head. It seemed to take a bit of a long time for her to return. When she came back, she held his book out flat toward him. Atop the cover was a Hershey chocolate bar.  
Actor grinned and accepted both offerings. “Where did you find that?” he had to know.

“After the Sgt./Major was transferred, I snitched all the chocolate bars out of the rations,” she said. “Makes good bargaining chips on the Continent.”

The Italian lay the book on his lap and removed the wrapper from the candy. He broke off a piece and held it out to her. “A tip for your trouble, carissima.”

“Grazie mille,” she replied, slipping it into her mouth. 

“And what else do I owe you for raiding your stash?” teased Actor.

Terry pretended to think about it. “Maybe a snuggle later?”

“Most definitely,” he replied. “I tried to get you in my bed before . . .”

“Bed wasn’t big enough and no privacy,” Terry shook her head with an exaggerated look of frustration. 

In response, an overdone expression of regret graced the con man’s face. “Alas, Teresa, I am afraid a snuggle is all I’m up for.”

“Pun fully intended, I’m sure,” teased the girl back.

Later that night, Terry slipped into Actor’s bedroom. The only light in the room was from the fire in the fireplace. She moved slowly and silently forward to see if he was asleep. A long arm held the covers up on his left side. Terry slid off her slippers and eased carefully in beside him. 

“Cotton gown, Teresa?” he complained.

“If you’re going to complain . . .” 

She wiggled up against his left side and tucked her head on his shoulder under his chin, right arm bent up atop his chest instead of across it.

“Are you staying the night?” he asked, hopefully.

“No,” she replied. “I’m afraid I’ll hurt your ribs in my sleep. Besides, it would be just our luck Craig would find a way back and catch us.”

A loud crack of thunder sounded overhead.

“I doubt that will be the case, but I appreciate your caution.” 

His left arm bent up and his hand encircled her upper arm. The feeling of contented enjoyment of simply lying there with her tucked up against him seemed strange to him, but pleasant. And right now, it was enough. He must have fallen asleep. When he awakened, she was gone.

GGG

The next day, Actor decided it was time to start pushing himself. While Teresa was downstairs, he pushed the covers aside and carefully and painfully rolled to a sitting position. He was able to make it to the bathroom unaided, so the next step was the door and back. After taking a couple deep breaths, Actor stood. There was no dizziness, just that abominable weakness. One slow step at a time, he worked to get to the door. Once there, he had to hold onto the door and gulp great breaths of air. Frustration settled in. Ten feet and his knees wanted to give out. Standing was not improving things any. He turned and looked back at the bed. It seemed much farther away than it was. Straightening, with eyes fixed on his pillow at the headboard, Actor took the first step forward. His legs tried to give out. So much for slow. He staggered forward with the hopes of reaching the bed before he went down. He barely made it. Flinging himself at the near corner of the mattress, he landed sideways with his right chest on the bed and his legs dangling toward the floor. His injured ribs felt like someone was stabbing him with a butcher knife and he couldn’t prevent a groan from escaping. 

Running footsteps sounded in the hall. Teresa must have been coming up the stairs. He tried to push himself further onto the bed, but his slippers slid on the rug.

Terry reached the door and stopped short. “What . . .” Never mind, she knew what. Stepping forward, she looked at the position he was in. That wasn’t going to work.

“Okay, get on your knees. We’ll get you up from there.”

“You can’t lift me,” wheezed Actor. At the same time, he managed to get one knee under himself and roll onto his stomach. The other knee moved up and he pushed away from the mattress, forearms taking his weight on the bed. Terry came to his left side.   
“Bring your left leg out and bend your knee up.” She had a hand on his upper back.

He wiggled his leg outward and got his foot down flat on the floor. Terry bent down and sideways, pulling his arm around her neck. This wasn’t going to be good for either of them. Her left hand grasped his thick wrist in front of her shoulder and her other arm went behind him so she could grab a handful of his pajama bottoms by his right hip. 

“Okay, up!” 

He tried to stand on his left foot. Leaning his weight on his right arm sent more stabbing pain into his chest. To his surprise, the girl levered him up enough he could get the other foot under him and stand, still leaning heavily on her. 

“Turn and face me,” she coaxed in a softer tone. 

With her holding onto him, he turned.

“Hug me.”

Actor’s long arms went around the girl and her arms now moved around his waist. Grabbing handfuls of his pajama bottoms.

“You are going to rip my pajamas,” he objected.

“Then move. Sideways,” she instructed.

He slid his feet, one at a time, toward the head of the bed. He stopped at the right place to sit. Terry bent at the knees, straddling his legs, arms around his waist now. 

“Sit. Easy,” she coaxed. 

They eased him down. He wanted to take deep breaths but the pain in his ribs prevented it. In defeat, something unaccustomed for him, he leaned his head against Teresa’s chest. She kept a hand on his upper back and stroked the back of his head with the other. 

“Let’s get you down flat,” she said. “Pivot on your backside and I’ll get your legs. No matter what we do it’s going to hurt.” 

Actor nodded. He put his arms behind him, hands on the bed and twisted when Teresa lifted his legs from just below his knees. Unable to maintain sitting up, he almost crashed back on the mattress, head hitting the pillow. Hands were quickly unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it aside.

Terry couldn’t believe there was no blood showing through the bandage on Actor’s chest. She peeled back a corner of the dressing. The sutures were intact. She placed a hand on either side of his chest and felt the ragged breaths he was taking. His chest seemed to be expanding evenly, but she needed to make sure he hadn’t collapsed part of the lung again. 

She rose from the bed and hurried out of the room and down the hall. Actor listened to her footsteps running back. She had a stethoscope in her hand. Easing a hip on the bed, beside him, she listened to both lungs. Satisfied, she looked up into the dark brown eyes.

“Sounds okay,” she reassured him. “It doesn’t look like you did damage.” 

Terry lay the stethoscope across her legs and buttoned his shirt back up. 

“Rest,” she said, getting to her feet. “We’ll try this again later this afternoon, when you’re ready.”

Actor watched her turn away and go out the door. That was it? No screaming, ranting, yelling, cursing, arguing? No telling him what an idiot he was. He knew what he had tried was stupid. He just hated to be helpless. 

At noon, Teresa entered the room with a tray of food. There were two sandwiches stacked on a plate. The top one was normal sized for these times. The one on the bottom was stacked thickly with meat, cheese, lettuce from the garden, and slices of tomato. The girl picked up the smaller sandwich and one of the two glasses of milk before sitting down on the desk chair and putting the glass on the desk. 

A loud clap of thunder seemed to shake the old building and rain slashed against the window as another wave of storm came through. Actor stared closely at the girl. Yes, her clothes were damp and there was more spring to her hair.

“You went out in this to get me some lettuce?” he asked in disbelief.

“Well, it wasn’t raining quite as hard when I went out as it is now. I doubt Craig and the guys will get back tonight either.” She took a bite of sandwich.

“And why is your sandwich so much smaller than mine?” he asked accusingly.

The girl took his tone, unperturbed. “Because you have a hole in you, and I don’t. You need more than I do. And you’re bigger than me.”

“Teresa . . .”

“Oh, just eat it,” she shot back at him. The twinkle in her eyes said she wasn’t truly angry with him.

He proceeded to do just that. Not only was the sandwich stuffed with meat and cheese, it was slathered with mayonnaise and mustard. Between bites, Actor asked, “Did you call G-2?”

Terry shook her head. “I wasn’t going to deal with Schaeffer. I called London. The planes aren’t flying, the boats aren’t boating, and the subs aren’t subbing. The guys are tucked in safe in a safe house for another night.”

Actor smiled. “Then it would be safe to repeat last night’s little arrangement. Perhaps for the entire night this time?”

“Perhaps.” And that was the end of that.

When they were finished eating, Terry put her plate and glass on the tray, but instead of walking out with it, she set it on the desk. Actor watched curiously as the girl picked up the chair and carried it over by the highboy next to the door. She positioned it sideways and close to the open door. Without a word, she retrieved the tray and headed back toward the door.

“Teresa?” Actor asked in curiosity.

She stopped and looked at him. “I know you’re going to try it again. And I know you don’t want me to help you. If you can make it to the door, you can sit and catch your breath before trying to go back to bed this time. Have a nice afternoon. I’ll be up later.”  
She gave that wide fake smile he associated with her brother and went out the door. 

He did indeed try it again, several times, until he could make it back and forth without resting. Between walks he rested or napped. It still annoyed him greatly that he had so little strength. 

Early that evening, Teresa brought up another covered tray and placed it across his thighs. With an exaggerated flip of the cloth she revealed two plates of what Actor swore was lasagna.

“Is that . . . ?” he asked.

“It’s as close to lasagna as I can make here,” admitted the girl with a shrug.

“Where did you find the pasta?” Actor asked in amazement.

Terry brought the chair back by the bed, sat and took one of the plates. “I am capable of making pasta,” she said. “Not one of my favorite things to do, but I can do it.”

The Italian took a tentative bite and his face broke into a smile. “You make a wonderful sauce. The meat. Sausage and what?”

Terry swallowed a bite. “Half sausage and half minced beef. I would have made it American-style with ricotta and egg, if I had ricotta.”

“Traditional is fine. You went to a lot of trouble, Teresa,” he admonished.

“I didn’t have anything else to do,” said the girl. “Every time I came up here, you were asleep. She looked inquisitively at him. “I didn’t hear you go splat on the floor, so I guess you must have made it to the door and back.”

Actor nodded. “Three times,” he said proudly.

Terry smiled. She wished he would allow her to stand by while he walked, but he didn’t want her help. She wasn’t sure why that was, but she would respect him. The funny thing was, he wanted her beside him in bed. No sex, maybe just warm body. Funny. She had grown up with boys and men and thought she understood them very well. That wasn’t the case with this one. 

“Could I please have my pipe?” asked Actor with a tinge of frustration.

Terry shook her head. “Doc said not for another week. That lung isn’t healed enough yet. You could end up with pneumonia or re-collapse it again if you start coughing.”

Actor understood that, but it was hard to go so long without his pipe. Not only was the tobacco soothing, so was the act of building a pipe. The girl rose from the chair and put it back by the door. She took the dirty dishes and the tray and left. 

She washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen, fielded a phone call from Kit, and worked on some intel in Craig’s office. The front still kept the guys from returning, but it was starting to move out. Rain still hit and ran down the diamond panes of the windows. She had gone back upstairs to close the blackout curtains in Actor’s and her bedrooms. With the windows shielded, he was reading his book by the light of the desk lamp.

Closing the house up for the night, Terry went to her bedroom and changed into her gown before going down to the Italian’s room. The desk lamp was on, the book beside it. He was asleep. There wasn’t enough room beside his left arm for her to slip in beside him and she didn’t want to awaken him. Moving silently to the bed, she bent down and lightly kissed his forehead. He didn’t wake up, so she turned the light out and went back to her room.

Sometime during the night, Actor awakened and missed the girl lying beside him. The earlier ‘perhaps’ must have meant no. He was disappointed. It was nice having her tucked up against him.

The next morning, nothing was said about the sleeping arrangements when she brought him his breakfast.

“I would like to wash up,” broached Actor.

Terry nodded. “Can you get in and out of the tub and stand that long?”

“I doubt it,” he said with disappointment.

“I’ll get things set up at the sink,” Terry said with a smile.

She took the chair she was sitting on and moved it into the bathroom. She set towels and his shaving set within reach. Returning to his bedside, Terry picked up the tray of dirty dishes and smiled at him.

“If you need anything,” she said. “throw something on the floor. Preferably not yourself.”

“Funny, Teresa,” he said with a wry expression. 

A half hour later, feeling somewhat clean and at least smooth shaven, Actor slowly and deliberately walked back to the bed. Just that little bit of activity had exhausted him. What was the matter with him? Even at his worst injury, he had bounced back better than this. He lay down in relief. A minute later there was bumping and scraping in the hall. 

“Teresa?” he called out weakly.

“Be there in a minute, caro,” she called back.

The noise ceased, and the girl walked in. She inspected his face and nodded. “Nice job.”

“Thank you,” he replied slightly disgusted. He eyed her. “What were you doing out there?”

She grinned. “You’ll see. The next time you take your walk to the door, look out there.”

“You’re not going to tell me?”

“Nope. It’s a surprise.”

Teresa went into the bathroom and cleaned up after him. Returning to the bedroom, she carried the chair back to its place by the door. Not quite sure of the response she would get, she walked over to look down at the Italian.

“I’d like to change the dressing,” she said.

He nodded. While she went into his bathroom for the aid kit, he scooted painfully over so she could sit on the bed beside him. She turned the covers back and sat carefully next to his hip. The kit was opened on his stomach. He had unbuttoned the pajama shirt and opened it, so the bandage was visible. 

Terry carefully peeled the tape off his skin and removed the gauze. The wound looked healthy. Even stitched, it looked like a tube had been in it. There was no heat or redness, so that was a plus. Terry counted on her fingers.

“Another three days and I can take the stitches out.”

As she redressed the wound, he looked questioningly at her. “When do I go see Dr. Kaiser again?”

Terry raised an eyebrow. “When you can get down two sets of stairs and sit in the car for twenty minutes of bumpy ride.”

That wasn’t going to be anytime soon, and they both knew it. He changed the subject.

“Have you heard anything from Allied Command about the Warden and the others?”

Terry nodded. “It’s still stormy on the Continent, but they’re trying to set up a pickup.” She laughed. “I’ll bet Craig is getting really antsy.”

Actor grinned. “Especially if he is sitting on intel.”

“And Casino and Goniff.”

It was after lunch before Actor’s curiosity got the best of him. He rose from the bed and went to the door, peering out into the hall. To his surprise, there were two chairs along the far wall. One between Casino’s room and the common room and the other at the door to the common room. He bet the other two chairs from the game table were spaced apart inside the big room and leading to his chair. 

With determination, he stepped into the hall and angled across to the first chair. He had to sit and rest. After catching his breath, he stood and walked slowly to the next chair. He still had to stop and rest. Looking inside the big room, he saw another chair close to the table and one on the other side between the table and his chair. Now he was really determined. He wanted to sit in his nice comfortable chair with his feet up on the ottoman. It took him the two more rest stops to reach his goal, but finally he was able to sink into his chair and get his feet up.

An hour later, that was where Terry found him. She approached silently, watching his breathing. It just seemed like he was in a peaceful sleep. Fetching the afghan that was draped across the piano top, she opened it up and lay it across him. Man was stubborn that was for sure. But at least he had made it without falling. Not for the first or the dozenth time, she wished he would ask for help or let her at least stand by when he made his trek.


	6. Chapter 6

A crash in the hall, followed by loud gruff male swearing jolted Terry from her sleep. The voice was Casino and the cackling above it was Goniff laughing. Terry flipped her desk light on, got out of bed, threw her robe on and opened her bedroom door.   
The light from her room showed one of the chairs along the left wall was overturned and Casino was sitting on the floor, left leg bent up, holding his knee.

“Are you hurt?” asked the girl with genuine concern.

“Naw, Sister,” Casino spat at her. “I’m holdin’ my knee ‘cuz it feels good.”

He started to get up and Goniff held a hand down to help. Once Casino was on his feet, the slighter man backed out of reach.

“What the hell’s the matter with you, Sister? Why’d yuh put the chairs out in the hall?”

Garrison was just reaching the top of the stairs with the intent of putting the safecracker in his place. A slight signal of splayed fingers from Terry had him pausing just out of sight, with Chief stopping behind him. 

Terry’s voice dripped sweet sarcasm. “I’m sorry, Casino. I figured after living here a year you wouldn’t need to feel your way along the wall in the dark to get to your room.”

“The chairs were placed there to assist me to get to the common room,” said the Italian accented voice from behind him. “If you wish to try taking someone’s head off, come here and try mine.”

Casino whirled around with just that intent, until he saw Actor in the doorway of his room. Instead of his usual upright self, the con man was leaning against the door frame, right elbow tucked in supporting his ribs.

Casino sighed. “Naw, you’re no fun right now.” It looked to him like he could easily knock the tall man down with one finger.

“Want to try and take my head off?” challenged Terry.

Casino looked back at her. “No, you’d knock my teeth down my throat.”

Chief’s eyes had been darting between Terry’s outstretched fingers at her side, and the Warden. The fingers relaxed, and Garrison stepped into the hall.

“Go to bed, Casino,” the Lieutenant ordered.

Chief stepped around him and went silently to his room. The other two men went to theirs. Actor’s door was already closed.

Craig looked at his sister. She frowned and indicated with a forward jerk of her chin he should go check on Actor, before turning and going into her room.

Craig did not knock before opening the con man’s door and slipping inside. He was surprised to find Actor seated on a chair beside the door. He closed the door silently and looked down at the weary face that looked up at him. The familiar sparkle in the con man’s eyes were missing and there was no quirky smile.

Only Craig could grip the Italian’s upper arm without getting punched and help him to his feet.

“Come on, Old Man,” said Garrison. “Let’s get you back in the bed.”

Actor allowed the younger man to help steady him to the bed. “At least you didn’t call me a dirty old man this time,” he said with a twitch of the corner of his mouth.

“I figured you would have had a bath by now,” said Garrison with a grin.

Actor sat on the edge of the bed and slipped his feet from his slippers. Again, without asking, Craig lifted his legs while Actor lay down, head on the pillow. Craig pulled the covers over the Italian before easing a hip on the mattress.

“How are you doing?”

Actor looked at him with self-disgust. “Not as well as I’d like to be.”

“The chairs in the hall? So, you can get from here to the common room?” asked Craig with seemingly idle curiosity.

“Yes.”

“Your idea?”

Actor shook his head. “Teresa.”

Craig nodded. “She helping you enough?”

Actor remembered the lasagna and the one time he had allowed her to shave him. “She would like to,” he replied.

“But you’re not letting her,” probed Garrison, already knowing the answer to that.

“No,” admitted Actor. “I want to be able to do things on my own. This is even slower than before. I made it to the common room in the afternoon, but I had to stop at each chair. When I made it to the big chair, I slept in it for two hours. Teresa stood by on the way back to my room, one chair at a time.”

“Let her help you as much as she can,” said Garrison. “We told you, but maybe you don’t remember, or you thought we were exaggerating. You literally bled out. If Terry hadn’t pulled a knife on Major Kaiser when he tried to disconnect her from you, you still might not have made it.” Craig gave him a firm look. “It wasn’t the blood Kelly and I gave you. It was Terry. You still don’t have enough blood. And we’re tapped out. Especially her. But she wants to help. I know my sister. And she’s trained. So, let her help. I need you back, but I need you back strong. And that’s not going to happen quickly.”

Actor nodded. “I guess I feel bad that she, and you and Kelly, went through all that for me.”

“Yes, well, feeling bad about it doesn’t help things between you and Terry. And you can’t tell me if the roles were reversed it wouldn’t have been you doing the same thing. I remember when Terry got that skull fracture. You can’t fool me. Either one of you. But I think you’re both trying to fool yourselves.” 

The only one Garrison was concerned about was Casino. His volatile safecracker seemed to have feelings of his own for Terry. As long the three kept things tolerable, it was okay. Actor wasn’t looking at him anymore. Avoidance wasn’t common for the uncommon confidence man. The injured man moved a little in the bed and winced. Craig got up.

“Had pain medicine lately?”

“I don’t like taking it. You know that,” said Actor.

“I wasn’t talking morphine,” said Craig. 

When there was no response, he said good night and left the room. Instead of going to his room, he went to Terry’s. The room was dark, and the girl was back in bed.

“Hey, Actor wants some pain medicine,” he said. It probably wasn’t quite a lie. “I’m going to bed.”

“All right.”

As he closed the door, the girl turned her desk light on and threw the covers back off. Actor never asked for pain medicine; however he had been splinting the ribs when he was in the doorway. Maybe he hurt himself getting up. Though why Craig couldn’t have given Actor some aspirin when he was in there was beyond her understanding.

She padded into her bathroom, retrieved a bottle of aspirin from her medicine chest, and went down to the Italian’s room. Like Garrison, she let herself in without knocking. The desk light came on to reveal a grimacing Actor with his arm outstretched toward the light and a look of question on his face.

“Craig said you wanted pain medicine,” said Terry.

“I’m sorry?” asked the man in confusion.

“I didn’t think you had,” replied the girl. “I’m here with aspirin. Would you like some?”

“It might help,” acknowledged the man in agreement.

Terry went into the bathroom, rinsed out the glass on the sink and half filled it with cold water. Actor was sitting up, watching her. She sat down beside his knees, handed him the glass and tipped two tablets from the bottle into his upturned palm. He dutifully dumped the pills into his mouth and washed them down with the water. Terry took the glass back.

“Are you leaking?” she asked with a nod toward his side.

“No. I think I just pulled it.” He looked down, sucking on a cheek. “I’m sorry I bothered you.”

Terry’s mouth clamped shut in frustration. “Hey. Quit telling me you’re sorry and quit saying you’re bothering me. When you bother me, I’ll tell you.” She shot him a mock glare. “I’m tired of tippy-toeing around you. You’re hurt. When you’re hurt I take care of you. It’s no bother. When I’m hurt, you might be annoyed with me, but it’s no bother to you. Or so you tell me. I take care of all of all of you when you come back shot up, knifed, or broken. It . . . is . . . no . . . bother.”

Teresa was something when she was annoyed. He gave her a calculating look from the corners of his eyes. “Tell me. Do you sleep with the others too, or just me?”

Terry stared at him. He grinned and his eyes twinkled. 

“You know something, Vittorio,” she said in a whisper. “If you weren’t sitting on it, I’d pinch your culo for that one.”

“I’d rather just have you tucked up against it,” lamented Actor with a touch of overacting. “Unfortunately, now it is too crowded around here.”

Terry shook her head and rose from the bed. She walked around to the desk, set the glass on it, and turned the light off while he laid back down. She bent over as though to give him a kiss. He tilted his head back a bit to receive it, but she darted in and kissed the tip of his nose instead. As she turned away, his long arm reached out to pinch her backside, but only came up with a bit of her robe. She jerked it away and headed for the door, chuckling quietly.

The next morning, when Terry brought his breakfast tray in, Actor was sitting up against the headboard, a patent smile on his face. She set the tray on his lap and straightened.

“Teresa,” said Actor unfolding the napkin, “you may put the chairs back.”

Terry frowned. “Why? The guys don’t need them. They’re using the table downstairs. Can you walk that far in one trip?”

“Not yet,” he admitted. “I must ask a favor of you. I realize you are busy with the others back, but if you could perhaps come up a couple times a day and accompany me for my walks, I would appreciate it.”

Now she really frowned. “Why the sudden change? Did Craig put you up to this?” she asked accusingly. 

“Not exactly,” replied Actor, taking a sip of coffee. “The Lieutenant explained a few things. I knew I had lost a lot of blood if I needed three transfusions. I guess I didn’t understand just how much blood I had lost. Nor the lengths you went to to keep me alive. I feel I have put such a burden on you, then and now.”

Terry’s head tilted with a look of exasperation on her face, but when she opened her mouth to speak, Actor’s arm shot out, fingers splayed to stop her. 

“I know we’ve had this conversation before . . . more than once. I’ve just never had to depend on a woman to help me. I’m learning.”

“Would you rather I had Craig or one of the guys do it?” she asked.

“No,” he admitted. “I enjoy your company and our talks. It’s that you are so busy with your chores and such,” he hedged.

“I can work around that,” she smiled. “Listen, Actor. I’ve been with you guys for a year now. I’ve looked after all of you, sometimes more than one at a time. I can manage and I’m happy to do it.”

“I’m not easy to live with,” warned the con man.

“Really?” teased Terry. “I hadn’t noticed.” She turned and left him to his breakfast.

GGG

She was busy. He knew that. With determination, Actor sat up on the edge of the bed, slipped his feet into his slippers, put his robe on and stood up. 

Head up, he walked to the door. Why did the common room look a mile away? It wasn’t. He started down the hall, angling toward the opposite wall. He made it past where the first chair had been when his legs began to feel rubbery.  
Terry had one foot on the bottom step when she heard Actor call to her.

“I’m coming,” she called back.

When she reached the top of the stairs, she found Actor hanging onto the door jamb of the common room, pale, and sagging.

“Craig!” she screamed, running forward to try to brace the con man up.

Downstairs, chairs flew, and four men pounded up the stairs. 

Terry had jumped forward and was pressed against Actor, trying to keep him upright against the door frame and not hurt the wound on his chest. Garrison took the con man’s left arm and ducked under it, straightening to bring the man upright.

“You going to pass out?” he asked as his sister grasped Actor’s right upper arm with her right hand and a handful of robe and pajama waistband with the other.

“No,” said Actor. “My legs gave out.” It was said with frustration and embarrassment with a healthy tinge of self-disgust.

“Okay,” said Craig. “Let’s get him back to his room.”

“NO! I want to sit in my chair, like a normal person.”

“You were never normal, Babe,” said Casino. “What do you want us to do?”

“Stay out of the way,” said Terry. She glanced at Craig. “Okay?” She tilted her head toward the con man’s chair in the far corner of the common room.

“Let’s go,” said Garrison. 

Together, they supported the tall Italian, taking most of his weight, and walked him slowly across the room. The three other cons followed at a distance. Reaching the chair, the Garrisons eased him down onto the seat. Actor leaned back in relief, breathing a little shaky.

“Did you hurt anything?” asked Garrison.

“No,” said Actor, “just weak.”

Garrison looked at his sister. “You have him?”

“Yup,” replied the girl. 

Garrison turned and pointed out the door. The men turned and went into the hall. Craig looked back at the two behind him. “You need anything let me know.”

Terry nodded, and Actor gave a tiny dip of his head in acknowledgement. Terry went to the piano and picked up the afghan that was back draped across its top. She settled it over Actor’s legs.

“I’ll be right back.”

She disappeared down the hall in the direction of his room. A couple minutes later, she returned with a glass of water, his book and one of his canes.

“Don’t know why we didn’t think of this before,” she said. Propping the cane within his reach against the table and placing the book and water next to the lamp, she looked down at him. “Please,” she begged quietly, “don’t try to go back to your room without somebody with you. You need to slowly build your strength up. You want something or need to go back to bed, pound the cane on the floor. One of us will come get you.” 

He looked up at her with resignation. She reached out and brushed her fingers through his hair in affection.

“Why aren’t you yelling at me?” he asked suspiciously.

Terry gave a little chuckle. “Would it do any good?”

He shrugged one shoulder, “Probably not.”

“Listen, I will be back up in a little bit. I’m going to get lunch for the guys, and I will bring up some sandwiches for both of us. I have ‘chores’ I can do up here.” She glanced at the clock on the mantle. “It’s almost noon. Would you like the radio on for your music program?”

Actor gave a half smile. “I would like that very much.”

Terry smiled and looked around the room and what she could see of the hall. Both were empty, so she bent down and exchanged a light kiss with him. “Be back in a bit.” She turned the radio on to the noon music station before leaving him. She heard the opening introduction by a British man on her way out.

Actor relaxed back in his chair. The strains of Mozart flowed over him, further relaxing him. His breathing settled back down to normal, as did his heartrate. The only thing missing right now was his pipe. He glanced at the table beside him. No pipe or bag of tobacco. Blast it, the girl was sticking strictly to the doctor’s orders. Instead of having a smoke, he took a sip of water instead and reached for his book.

Terry went silently down the stairs and stopped in front of Craig’s open door. Garrison looked up, pen in hand.

“He all right?”

“I think so,” said Terry. She glanced at the other men in the common room. They were watching her. Her countenance changed to narrowed eyes and pinched mouth. “All of you,” she said in a low voice, “dining room, NOW!” That earned her startled looks, even from Craig. She turned to him next. “You too.”

Not waiting to see if they were following, she turned and walked to the dining area. 

“Now what?” muttered Casino.

“We didn’t do nuthin’ but go up to ‘elp,” objected Goniff. 

Even Garrison looked resigned. Chief gave him a questioning look as he walked by. Garrison shrugged and followed Casino and Goniff. They found Terry sitting at the head of the table in her brother’s seat. With a look of dissatisfaction, Craig took her seat and the others took theirs.

“Why are we here?” asked Casino.

“Keep your voice down,” admonished Terry. “He’s got good ears. We’re less likely to be heard here. Okay, I’m putting the chair back in the hall.” She eyed the safecracker sourly. “Think you can walk around it?”

“Sure,” said Casino. “Why’d you move it?”

“He told me to.” Now she turned her attention to her brother. “It seems somebody told him he had to be dependent on me.”

“It wasn’t quite like that,” said Garrison pointedly.

“Whatever way it was, he is going to try to be as independent as possible, with or without me. If the chair had been in the hall, he might have done alright. So, the chair is going back in the hall. Any objections?” She looked around the group with anything from smiles to grumpy frowns, but there was silence. “Any questions?”

“Yeah,” said Goniff brightly. “Are you going to make lunch soon? I’m starvin’.” 

Terry grinned. “You’re always starving,” she said. “I’m going to get it now.”

An hour later, she went up the stairs, balancing a covered plate atop a basket of clean laundry that needed repairs. Actor looked up at her entrance. The news was on the radio.

“I missed it,” said Terry, setting the basket on the table. “What was it today?”

“Mozart . . . Piano concerto number 21 andante.”

“I like that one too,” said Terry. 

She took the plate over to the Italian and handed it to him, so she could swing one of the chairs around and sit close to him. He took the top sandwich and held the plate out to her. They ate in companionable silence. 

“Is there any lasagna left?” asked Actor hopefully.

Terry shook her head. “Goniff found it last night. I assume it was Goniff. The plate was in the sink and hadn’t been rinsed off.” She looked at him. “I’ve got pork chops thawing,” she said, watching the grin grace his face. “I don’t know what’s with you guys and pork chops,” she teased.

“It’s that you make them so well,” replied Actor seriously. “Crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.”

Terry shook her head. Now he was a connoisseur of her pork chops. She went back to the table and her mending. There was always mending. The guys were hard on clothes. Even the fastidious con man at times. 

Out of his reach, she casually asked, “Just how many women have you lived with?”

That came out of the blue and since it was just him and Teresa, he allowed a look of surprise to be aimed at her. “I beg your pardon?”

Terry concentrated on her sewing. “This morning you said you were not easy to live with. I just wondered how many women you had lived with to come to that conclusion. I thought you were the ‘love ‘em and leave ‘em smiling’ type.”

“I did not live with any of them,” he said. “I never stayed in the same place, with the same woman for more than a week as a rule. Too dangerous, and they would quickly begin to look for a permanent relationship. I do not entertain any thoughts of having a permanent relationship with any woman.”

That last was a bit of a lie. He would have stayed with his Marie if her father had not had him incarcerated to get rid of him. And once in a great while, he indulged himself in wondering what a long-term relationship with Teresa would be like. He could not see that one happening.

“Rather lonely existence, don’t you think?” She continued to sew up a tear in a shirt.

“Not at all,” he countered. Of course, it was a lonely existence. “I was perfectly content with my life before prison in the States.”

“Liar,” Teresa said with her head bent down. “You’re very good, but you’re still a liar.” She hid her smile.

He sucked in a cheek. “Now you are an expert on me?”

Teresa looked up with an affectionate smile. “No, Vittorio, I’m just barely scratching the surface of you. There are a lot of twists and turns to that sharp, cunning mind of yours. You just don’t let anybody that close.”

“As I said, safer.” 

Why on earth was he having this conversation with the woman? Perhaps it was the little smiles and signs of affection he received from her. That was what he missed in his life. Affection; to receive it and, also, to be able to give it. He had come the closest to that with Teresa. It was something that had been missing from his relationship with Marie. Actor gave a mental shrug. He had been younger then and affection was not something he had been interested in. Just as well.

They talked of mundane things for another hour, until Terry finished her mending. By that time, Actor was ready to lie down again. His chair had felt good, but he just tired so easily. When he broached that he was ready to return to his room, the woman nodded. Instead of going to him, she took a chair and carried it into the hall. He rose painfully from his seat and slowly followed her, meeting her at the door.

Glancing down the hall with a frown, Actor said, “I do not wish to get in another argument with Casino. Why don’t you place it against the wall between my room and the Warden’s?”

“You won’t get into an argument with Casino.” She linked her elbow through his. “He knows it’s there and if I move it chances are he’ll move too far over and trip over it again. Then we will all have an argument.”

Actor’s pride hoped he would make it to his bed this time in one try. That didn’t work. He still ended up sitting on the chair for a minute to catch his breath. While he was doing that, Terry fetched his cane, book and glass of water from the common room and returned them to his night table. When she came back, they went the rest of the way to his bed. Before he lay down, Teresa lifted the bottom of his pajama shirt and checked the dressing. It was fine.

Actor barely stifled a sigh of relief when he stretched out under the covers. He looked up at Teresa. “I think I will take a nap now. Do you think we could get me to the table for dinner?”

“If you feel up to it,” she said. “I don’t see why not. I assume you mean the upstairs one. I don’t want to try you on the stairs yet.”

“No, I agree with you on that.”

Terry smiled at him. “You have a nice nap. I’m going to wash dishes, again. And get the vegetables cut up.”

“Goniff ate the lasagna,” Actor said again in disgust.

“Had to be him,” said Terry. “Chief would have rinsed or soaked the plate. Craig is housebroken so he would have too. If it was Casino, the plate would have been spotless. He likes my sauce too. Had to be Goniff.”

“I think at some point in the future I will have to get even with him for that,” said the Italian firmly.

Terry laughed. “Go to sleep. I’ll be back up in a while. You need anything bang the floor with your cane.”

“So uncouth,” Actor said with disgust. 

“But effective.”


End file.
